Ordinary School Life
by Rianna Lauren
Summary: Kory Anders is new to Jump City High. What will happen when she meet new friends and new foes? RobStar, BBRae, BBTer, and others.
1. Welcome to Jump City High

**Ordinary School Life**

_Kory's POV_

I walked into the huge building titled "JUMP CITY HIGH". To be honest, I'm nervous. Very nervous. But I guess that's normal, especially in a new school year. And I'm sure I got a lot to learn here. My sister learnt here for the last two years. And this year is the last year she's gonna be here. It's the first year for me to be here.

Carrying my purple shoulder bag, I walked through the hallways, trying to find my first class. I looked at the school map and finally figured out where my first class is.

I entered the room, 10 minutes earlier than the schedule. I spotted an empty chair and sat there. I looked around. The class wasn't so bad. I see the students here looked…diligent.

_Normal POV_

"Hey," a sound greeted Kory from beside her. She looked to her left to reply the greeting.

"Hello," she smiled sweetly to the dark-skinned girl. She wore a yellow shirt with thin black stripes and a pair of long black jeans.

"Are you new?" she asked. Kory nodded and smiled.

"I'm Karen," she offered her hand.

"Kory. Nice to meet you," she shook her hand.

"Welcome to Jump City High, Kory. Where are you from?" Karen asked.

"I'm foreign. I moved from the country Tamaran," she replied.

Karen cocked an eyebrow. "Where is that?"

"It's a remote country. Many people don't know that the country even exists. That's why I moved here with my sister, 3 years ago."

"I see," she smiled. Their chats stopped immediately when the teacher came in to class.

"Alright, people. New students, old students, here's your assignment, I want it finish in half an hour," he said quickly while writing an assignment on the board. Then, he left.

"That should be easy," Kory mumbled while examining the assignment carefully.

"Teachers here don't really teach, you know, they just give us tasks, we finish that, give it to the teacher, and get some grades," she explained.

"First day of school and we already get a task," Kory said, "Don't you think it's a little…"

"Too quick?" Karen finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Kory smiled.

Half an hour had passed, and they went to their next classes.

"Take a locker," Karen offered the locker beside her.

Kory smiled again and put her things inside. They went to their next classes, which were accidentally the same.

"Cool! We have the same class!" Karen exclaimed.

"That's great," Kory said, "You can teach me about things around here."

They walked together to their next class. They entered the room and took a seat. The assignment was already written on the board.

"No teacher?" Kory asked.

"We do things pretty much by ourselves around here," Karen shrugged.

They worked on the assignment until about half an hour. The class, which happened to be art class, wasn't so exciting.

"This is boring," Kory mumbled.

"Tell me about it," Karen agreed while painting.

Kory continued painting. She looked down to her palette. "I'm out of red paint…do you have any?" she asked Karen.

Karen checked her paint. "Sorry girl, it's all I got left," she said, pointing to her palette.

Kory looked to her right and saw a girl with violet hair, violet eyes, and pale skin. She was wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants.

Kory went over to her. "Hey," she greeted her.

The girl looked over to Kory. "Hey," she replied flatly.

"Um, I was wondering if you have any spare red paint," Kory asked her.

The girl looked to her painting kit. She pulled out a small bottle.

"Here," she smiled.

"Thanks," Kory took the bottle, "Are you new here?"

"I was here last year," she replied, "I guess you're new. What's your name?"

"Kory Anders. And you?"

"I'm Rachel Roth. Call me Rachel, and never call me Rae," she said seriously.

Kory giggled. "Alright," she went back to her spot and continued painting for a while.

The bell rang, signing the end of the 2nd class period.

"Ready for the next class?" Karen asked Kory.

"Yeah," she replied. Then, she asked Karen, "Do you know Rachel Roth?"

"Rachel? Yeah, I know her. We're kinda friends, too," she replied.

"Hey Kory, Karen," Rachel walked over to them.

"Hi Rachel," Karen replied.

"What's your next class?" Rachel asked.

"Mine is Biology," Kory replied.

"Looks like we're splitting, girl," Karen said.

"I'm on biology too," Rachel said.

"Okay, we better get going. Hey Kory, wanna take a tour after 3rd period?" Karen offered.

"Sure!" she exclaimed, "Wanna come, Rachel?"

Rachel thought for a moment, "Well, it's okay, I guess."

"Cool. See you later!" Karen waved and headed for her next class.

"Come on," Rachel smiled and walked with Kory to the next class.

The 3rd period class was history, the most boring class in the history of classes. They went in to the class and sat down.

"You must be one of the smart ones," Kory said.

"Well…not so smart, but…quite, maybe," Rachel smirked.

They spotted a beautiful girl with red hair just like Kory, but she looked more…attracting.

"Who's that?" Kory asked curiously.

Rachel looked up. "That's Barbara. We call her Babs. She's the real genius here," she replied.

"She's gorgeous. Must be one of those famous students, huh?" Kory asked.

"Famous? She had the whole school's spotlight," a voice replied from behind Kory. A girl with pink-dyed hair and pale skin (similar to Rachel) with a blue shirt and skirt replied her.

"Jenny," she offered her hand.

"Kory Anders," she shook her hand.

"Hey, Jen," Rachel greeted her, "Didn't notice you were there."

"It's cool," she replied.

"So, why is she so famous?" Kory asked.

"She's pretty, smart, and rich," Jenny replied, "And she's dating the coolest guy on Jump City High."

"Who's that?" Kory asked.

Before Jenny replied, Rachel spoke up to Jenny, "Karen's taking her to a tour later, show her who's the guy," she smirked.

Kory tilted her head to one side in confusion. "So, who is it?" she asked.

"Oh, you'll see," Jenny replied.

The history class went quite fast. After the 3rd period class was over, there's a two hour break time. The three girls went out from the history class to see Karen standing nearby the door.

"Hey girls," she greeted.

"Hey, Karen," Jenny smiled.

"Wanna take the tour now?" Karen asked. Kory nodded and turned to Jenny. "Would you like to come?"

"Sure," she replied. So they all went together on the tour.


	2. Meet Gar, Vic, and Tara

They walked to the cafetaria, where all the food-eating activity occurs.

"This," Karen started, "is the cafeteria. Lunch, snack time, any eating activity, do it here."

Kory looked around. "Wow, for a cafeteria this place is big," she said.

"Yeah, and the meals aren't bad at all. The foods here aren't mystery meats or any inedible goo-ey stuff like you see on TVs," Jenny pointed to the rows of meals, prepared for lunch, pizza, salad, pudding, and lots of other yummy stuff.

"Well, except that," Rachel pointed to a green-haired boy on a table nearby them, accompanied by his friend, which looks like an African-American. They were eating their meals. The tall and big African-American was eating meat, while the smaller boy was eating…who knows what.

Karen groaned, "Don't make me start on that."

"What is that stuff? That looks like white…juiced meat…which I doubt it tastes good," Kory shuddered.

"Gar always eats tofu for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner at his house. And snack time," Rachel complained.

"And who's the tall guy?" Kory asked.

"Oh, that's Vic. He's more of a meat guy," Karen said, "want me to introduce them?"

Kory nodded hesitantly, "Just don't get me near that…stuff."

The girls went over to Gar and Vic's table. "Hey boys," Karen greeted.

The boys looked up. "Hey," Vic replied.

"Kory, this is Victor Stone, Vic, this is Kory Anders," Karen said.

"New student?" Vic offered his hand.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you," Kory shook his hand.

"Vic is the football team captain," Karen said.

"Cool," Kory smiled, "and you must be Gar," she turned to the tofu-eating boy and offered her hand.

"Garfield Logan," he shook her hand. He could hear the girls giggle from behind Kory.

"What is so funny about my name?" he complained.

"Nothing," Jenny giggled.

"It's cute," Rachel mumbled under her breath. And little did she know Gar Logan just heard her.

"Thanks, Rachel," he smirked.

"For what?" she replied, a little scared.

"For what you said," he smirked again as Rachel blushed. No one but Vic noticed this, so he cleared his throat loudly.

Everyone's attentions are back to Kory as she spoke, "So, Vic is on the football team,"

"And I sometimes do mechanic stuffs," he said proudly.

"And a mechanic genius," she smiled, "while Gar is…"

"Your vegan future stage comedian," he said proudly, "I'm auditioning for the position of an MC, on this year's art and music show. I'm gonna throw some jokes later on."

"It's a show where students can show their talents that are related to art and music," Karen explained.

"And I doubt he's gonna pass the audition," Rachel whispered to Kory.

"Okay. So, wanna hear a joke?" Gar offered. Everyone groaned but Kory.

"Alright. Why did the aardvark cross the road?" Gar asked.

"To beat up the idiot telling jokes about him," Rachel replied.

"No, it's because…hey! Not funny," Gar complained as everyone laughed. Finally, they stopped. Kory tried to look for another subject.

"Why did you dye your hair…green?" Kory asked innocently.

"Cause it's cool," he said. "Want some?" he offered his tofu.

"No…thanks…" Kory said.

Karen knew this was her cue to get Kory out of there. "Alright, boys, we're gonna show Kory the rest of the school. Enjoy your meals!" Karen waved.

"Bye," Vic replied and waved back.

---

The girls moved on. They had an hour left until the 4th period. They stopped by the gymnasium.

"This is the gym," Jenny introduced, "the perfect location for indoor sports."

"The fields for the outdoor sports are behind the gym," Rachel said.

"Cool," Kory looked around, "I'm starting to like this school."

"You're gonna love it. Jump City High is one of the best schools around," Karen smiled.

"Then I'm proud to be part of this school," Kory smiled back.

Jenny looked around, and found a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes walking towards them.

"Oh man," she complained softly.

The others looked to the direction and their expressions changed. Except Kory, of course.

"Uh-oh," Karen said. The girl was getting closer and closer.

Rachel curled her fingers to a tight fist. "That girl again," she whispered.

"Calm down, Rachel. We'll take this," Karen said.

The blonde-haired girl greeted them. "Hello, girls," she smirked.

"Hi, Tara," Karen replied bitterly.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Jenny asked with no friendly gesture at all.

"Oh, nothing, you know I want nothing from _you_," she rolled her eyes. "I'm here to see the new girl."

Kory just stood there, not knowing what to do. Tara and the others looked like…enemies to each other.

"I'm Kory Anders," she offered her hand. The others didn't know what to do.

"We can't let her be with Tara!" Jenny whispered.

"No, she won't fall easily. Give Kory a chance," Karen whispered back.

"Kory. I'm Tara Markov," she replied in a selfish tone, putting her hands on her hips, not touching Kory's hand. Kory hesitantly withdrew her hand.

"I'm Jump City High's cheerleader captain," she introduced. She looked at Kory, at her face, her posture, and her clothes.

"And it looks like you got talent," she smirked.

Kory froze. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. Seeing from your posture and look, I think _you_ got what it takes," she said and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Give me a call if you're interested. Besides, it's better to join my club rather than hanging out with a bunch of…whatever you call them," Tara chuckled. "Practice is tomorrow if you wanna join," she said and left them.

There was silence for a few moments. Then, Jenny spoke up.

"WHAT. WAS. THAT. ABOUT?!"

"I…honestly don't know," Kory spoke softly.

"Is she trying to get her away from us?! Oh, duh! So obvious, she is trying to do so," Karen exploded to herself.

"Girls…" Rachel interrupted.

"Joining _her_ club? Who does she think she is?!" Jenny shouted.

"Girls…"

"I knew we should have thrown her to that river. And let her flow to the sea and let those sharks eat her body!" Karen yelled.

"But…" Kory started, but before she finished, Rachel yelled.

"GIRLS!!" Rachel's voice echoed through the gym.

"Kory had _no idea_ who Tara is. She had no idea what our problem is with Tara. You can't just explode like that," Rachel said.

Karen sighed. "We…had a problem with Tara."

"It's obvious," Kory responded.

"She used to be our friend. But she betrayed us on a certain thing and…we couldn't get along since then," Jenny explained.

"So you had a fight?" Kory asked. The three girls nodded.

"Sorry we…didn't feel right to tell you what she did, but-"

"It's okay, you don't have to," Kory smiled.

"So…you wanna join her?" Jenny asked.

"If you don't want me to, then… I guess it's okay," Kory looked to the ground.

"Don't think about Tara first. Do you actually want to try cheerleading?" Karen asked.

After a few moments, Kory nodded.

"It's okay. As long as you don't turn yourself against us," Rachel joked.

"No! I would never do that! You guys are great friends! First day at school and you're the first ones to tell me about everything," Kory said, "I won't turn myself against you."

"Well, alright, cause maybe Tara' right. Looks like you got some talent," Karen smirked.

Kory smiled back. "So…on with the tour?" she asked.

"Sure," Jenny replied and walked through the gym.

X-X-X

Hello ppl! This is our first AU, but basically I (Rynna) wrote it, Claire did the minor parts. Sorry if I made Terra as a bad girl, but don't worry, she'll turn good eventually… I want REVIEWS, PPL!! My goal is to have minimal 5 reviews per chapter, then I'll update. I'm not gonna update until I got 5 reviews for this one XD…hope u enjoy!!  
Rynna 


	3. Meet the Sports Students

"There's the part for martial arts," she pointed to her left, "Mostly Japanese martial arts."

"See that boy?" Karen said to Kory, pointed to a Japanese boy who was training martial arts. "That's Ryuku, a Japanese transfer student. He's so good at martial arts. Learn with him if you're interested," Karen explained. Ryuku was swinging his sword through numerous numbers of dummies…which scared Kory a little.

"I'm not the fighter kind," Kory responded, "Who's the girl over there?" she asked, referring to a martial-art-training-girl.

"That's Jade. She's good, too. She has a crush on Roy," Karen giggled.

"Which one is Roy?"

"You'll see," Karen answered.

"And there's the wrestling arena," Jenny pointed to her right.

"The school actually has a wrestling lesson?" Kory asked.

"Yeah," Karen said, "Kinda violent, huh?"

Kory nodded and spotted a girl who was training on the wrestling arena. She looked really strong. "That must be the wrestling mistress," she said.

Rachel looked over. "Oh, that's Rosabelle. She got good skills on wrestling," she said.

"I see," Kory replied. "The other one looks kinda good, too," she pointed to another girl who was on the wrestling arena.

"That's Sarah Simms," Karen explained, "Victor's…ex."

"Oh," Kory said softly.

"But she got skills. Students here got skills," Jenny joined the conversation.

"Wanna see the fields?" Rachel offered.

"Sure," Kory nodded and went with the others. They walked through a door that leads to the fields behind the gymnasium. Basketball, badminton, tennis, football, and a track field, even a huge swimming pool.

"Wow," was what Kory could only say.

"Huge, huh?" Jenny smiled, "This school is one of a kind."

"I can see that," Kory responded.

"There's the basketball field, and…hey, where's Richard?" Jenny complained.

"Who?" Kory asked.

"Oh, nobody, never mind, hey that's Babs, let's go talk!" Karen said quickly and yanked Kory to Babs direction, who was practicing basketball.

"Hey Babs!" Karen shouted. Babs looked to her right and found Karen and the others walking towards her.

"Hey girls," she smiled, holding her basketball.

"How is it going?" Jenny asked.

"Cool," Babs replied and looked over to Kory, "So who's this?"

"A new friend," Rachel said.

Kory stepped forward and offered her hand, "I'm Kory Anders," she introduced.

"Barbara Gordon. Call me Babs," she smiled, shaking Kory's hand.

"I heard you got the spotlight here," Kory smiled.

"Not really. All of the students have the spotlight. You know this school is awesome, so are the students," Babs smiled back.

"Then I'm lucky to be here. Nice to meet you, Babs," Kory said.

"Nice to meet you too," Babs smiled and continued her basketball exercise.

"She's just being nice. She HAS the school's spotlight," Jenny laughed.

"There's the track field. Let's check it out," Karen walked to the track field with the others. A boy was running around the field in an incredible speed.

"Wow, that boy's fast," Kory said.

"That's Wally," Rachel said, "Fastest boy alive…in school," she chuckled.

"He's cute," Jenny mumbled, not knowing that Kory heard her.

"Who's cute, Jenny?" Kory asked a little loudly.

"Oh, nothing, I'm being silly," she giggled.

"She got a crush on him," Rachel whispered.

"Hey, ladies," Wally stopped and greeted them.

"Hi, Wally," Kory, Rachel, and Karen waved.

"What's with Jenny?" he pointed to her.

Rachel looked to Jenny and hit her slightly with her elbow. Jenny snapped out of her trance.

"Oh. Hi Wally," Jenny smiled.

'She's so cute,' he thought. "Are you new here?" Wally asked Kory.

"Yeah," Kory smiled.

"Wally West, fastest boy alive," he offered his hand.

"In school," Kory said, chuckling, and shook his hand. "Kory Anders."

"Nice to meet you, Kory," Wally smiled, "Gotta run, bye!" he waved and continued running.

"You SO have crush on him, huh?" Kory asked Jenny.

"Duh! He gave me this for valentine's day last year," Jenny rolled a part of her sleeve and showed her…

"A charm bracelet," Kory smiled, "beautiful."

"It's my bracelet for good luck, I am SO anti bad luck," she said.

"On with the tour," Karen announced, "We have 10 minutes left."

They traveled to the football field. "This is where Vic does his routine lessons," Karen said.

"Cool. That boy over there got skills," Kory pointed to a big guy with white skin and narrow eyes.

"That's Leonid Kovar. He's a Russian transfer student and a great football player," Rachel said.

They turned around to see the archery field. "That's where the archery students practice," Jenny said.

"And _that's_ Roy. Roy Harper," Karen pointed, "our top archery student."

"Jade's crush," Jenny added.

"He's good," Kory smiled.

"Last but never the least, the swimming pool!" Karen proudly pointed to her left. The swimming pool was clear sparkling blue, with the biggest size you could imagine.

"That," Kory paused, "is enormous."

"I know! I would never regret being a student here," Karen said.

"Let me guess, that's the school's top swimming student," Kory pointed to a long haired boy with a blue-black swimming suit.

"Yeah, that's Garth. He's a vegan too," Rachel said.

"Not just top student. He's the captain of the swimming team," Jenny said.

"And that one over there?" Kory asked, referring to another boy who was swimming beside Garth.

"That's Tramm. That's his nickname, his real name is _really_ long, you don't wanna know," Karen said.

A few moments later, the bell rang, signing the start of the 4th period.

"Oh no, I'm gonna be late!" Kory said in panic.

"What's your next class?" Jenny asked.

"Mathematics," Kory replied.

"That's far," Rachel said.

"It's okay, I know a shortcut. I'm on math too. See you later, girls!" Jenny waved and ran with Kory.

-X-X-X-

Remember, it requires 5 reviews for an update per chappie   
Rynna


	4. Classes in Session

A few moments later, they arrived at math class. Good thing the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"Wow! That _was_ a shortcut!" Kory said while catching her breath after all those running.

"Figured it out last year," Jenny replied.

"Figured what out?" Wally's voice asked from behind them.

"Wally!" Jenny said, surprised.

"How did you get here before us?" Kory asked.

"Hello? Fastest boy alive? Even just in school," Wally chuckled.

"Yeah, you sure are fast," Jenny replied.

Silence flooded over them. Silently, Kory crept to her desk, leaving Jenny and Wally alone.

"So…how are things going?" Wally asked.

"You know, first day at school, new lessons, new friends like Kory, new stuffs," Jenny blushed.

"Are you still with…_them_?" Wally asked again.

"No, no… I'm done with them. I'm sick of them," she smiled.

"Nice. So, uh…I was thinking if…you…wanna hang out…with me…sometime?" he asked nervously.

"Sure, wanna go after school?" Jenny said.

"Yeah, great! Wanna hit the movies?" Wally asked again.

"Sounds great," Jenny responded and walked to her desk, beside Kory. Wally walked to his desk which was a little far from the girls.

"Someone's got a date," Kory smirked.

Jenny gasped. "You listened!"

Kory chuckled, "I'm not gonna tell anyone," she said. "But if I can ask…who's _them_?"

Jenny stayed quiet for a few moments, and then she replied, "I'll show you later."

Kory nodded and started working on her math assignment.

The math class ended as the girls headed for their lockers.

"Hey girls," Karen greeted them.

"Hey," both replied.

"What's your next class?" Rachel asked.

"Mine is literature," Kory said.

"Mine is art," Jenny said.

"I'm with Jenny," Karen said.

"And I'm with Kory," Rachel said, after looking at her schedule.

The bell rang again.

"See you later," Kory waved and walked with Rachel.

"So…you like literature?" Kory asked.

"Mostly. I like poems and books and stuff," Rachel replied.

Kory then noticed something. "You don't talk much, do you?"

Rachel shook her head. "Talk less, do more," she replied.

"Great motto," Kory smiled. They arrived at literature class when the teacher was writing an assignment on the board, and left the class.

"Teachers here don't do much teaching, more of giving tasks," Rachel said.

"And they are SO boring," a boy's voice replied from their right.

"Hi, Rae," Garfield greeted, the owner of the voice.

Rachel didn't answer.

"Right. Rachel," Gar corrected.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "How many times did I tell you to NOT call me Rae?"

"I didn't count," Gar shrugged.

"Well, you should remember that," Rachel opened a novel for her assignment.

"Why are you so interested in these writing…reading…whatever this is?" Gar asked.

"First, it's called _literature_. And I'm interested in that…because I _am_ interested in that."

"Letariture, huh?"

"It's _literature_, genius," Rachel responded sarcastically.

'He's kinda cute,' Rachel thought, but then she thought different, 'and annoying. I think I like him,' she thought again, 'Yeah right.'

"Right. Li…te…ra…ture," he spelled out loud, "got it."

Kory giggled. Rachel and Gar looked to Kory's direction.

"What are you giggling at?" Gar asked.

Kory stopped. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all, you don't need to mind about me," she responded with a small smirk.

They both realized what that meant, so they stopped talking…and blushed a little bit.

Literature class was as boring as it could be, except for Rachel. After literature class was over, the girls met again on the lockers area.

"My next class is social studies, who got the same class?" Karen asked.

Nobody spoke up but Kory, "I do!"

"Cool," Karen smiled, "meet you guys later," she waved to the others and walked to the social studies class with Kory.

"I can't believe all my classes today are with you guys," Kory said.

"That's great," Karen smiled, "I bet you're starting to love this school."

"Yes, yes I am."

They arrived at the social studies class. They sat on their desks when Vic came in to the class.

"Hey, ladies," Vic greeted and sat beside Karen.

"Hey Sparky," Karen responded.

"Hi Vic," Kory greeted back.

"How's school?" Vic asked.

"Goes well for me," Karen replied, "Kory?"

"I would _never_ regret being a student here, it's awesome!" she said.

"Nice to hear you like it here," Vic smiled.

Karen smiled a little. She doesn't know why, but she smiled.

"You looked extremely happy today," Vic said to Karen.

"You know, just that usual first-day-of-school spirit," she said…and blushed a little bit.

Kory sighed. 'These girls found their boys,' she thought, 'where's mine?'

And _that's_ when he came in.

--

A boy around her height with black messy hair and glamorous blue eyes walked in the class and sat in front of Kory.

Kory stared at him. 'He came in as if on cue,' she thought.

Karen and Vic noticed this.

"Uh-oh," Karen said.

"That could cause trouble," Vic said.

"Maybe I should tell her," Karen said and leaned towards Kory, but Vic grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Wait, she didn't even get the chance to know him, you'll break her heart!"

"Well, it's better if she knows it _now_, rather than knowing it after she fell for him!"

"Knowing what?" a voice asked from Karen's front-left. It was that messy-haired boy.

"Hi, Richard!" Karen waved to the boy, "What's up?"

"Nothing, just hearing you yelling around about something…" Richard replied.

"How's your day?" Vic asked, trying to change the subject.

Richard sighed. "School is fine, but I think Babs and I are distancing," he said.

Karen looked over to Kory who was still staring at Richard, and Richard didn't realize that. She hoped Kory heard that Richard said the word "Babs"…

Richard looked over to Kory, and that's when Kory snapped out of her trance.

"Who's this?" Richard asked.

Kory didn't speak. She was way too busy thinking about him.

Karen hit Kory lightly with her elbow and introduced, "A new friend," Karen said.

Kory smiled and offered her hand, "I'm Kory. Kory Anders," she said.

"Richard Grayson. Call me Richard," he smiled.

'His smile is so sweet!' she thought dreamily.

Richard looked around. "No teacher?" he asked.

"Looks like it," Vic answered.

Richard turned to Kory. "Where are you from?"

"Tamaran," she replied simply, "you probably don't know where it is."

"No, I know where it is. It's isolated, but I know that country," he smiled.

'She's gorgeous,' he thought, 'wait, wrong thought. I'm with Babs, that's it.'

"Where are you from before you came here?" Kory asked.

"I'm from Gotham," he answered, "live with my dad."

"That must be nice," Kory responded, "I'm with my sister and a little puppy."

"Where are your parents?"

Kory stayed silent. "My mom was gone when I was born, my dad died on a car crash," she said in a low tone.

"I'm sorry," he replied, "my parents are gone, too. My dad is an adoptive one."

The two stayed quiet. Richard sit normally again, turning away from Kory. Kory blushed a little. Vic and Karen just stared at them.

"Yup. This is one huge problem," Karen whispered.

The bell rang, signing the end of school today. Social studies students packed their things and got out of the class.

"Well, I…guess I'll see you tomorrow, bye," Richard waved to Kory and got out from the class.

"Bye!" Kory waved and packed her things.

"See you later, Sparky," Karen waved and packed her books, "wish me luck with Kory."

"I will," he smiled. "Bye, Karen!" he waved back, "don't forget, 06.00 PM today!" he shouted and got out from the class.

The class was empty, and Kory squealed loudly.

"You saw that didn't you? Didn't you?!" she screamed.

"Yeah…yeah, I…saw that…" Karen answered, staring at the floor.

Kory's expression changed. "Karen, what's wrong? Looks like you're not…happy for me."

She sighed. "I…"

-X-X-X-

CLIFFHANGER!! MWAHAHA!!  
-clears throat-  
okay, as usual, I need 5 reviews for the chapter if you want an update   
so be a good reader and push that button over there ;)  
Rynna


	5. Meet the HIVE and RichBabs Breakup

"Hey, what took you so long?" Jenny called from outside their class door.

"Coming!" Kory responded and got out from the class with Karen.

"Finally school is over," Rachel said.

"Hey Jenny, wanna show me who _them_ is?" Kory winked.

"Oh, yeah, girls, wanna come with?' Jenny asked them.

"Where to?" Karen asked.

"A little visit to the H.I.V.E.," she said.

Rachel gasped. "You're still with them?"

"No, silly, Kory asked who they are. Come on," Jenny said and led them downstairs.

They headed to a corner of the school. Jenny and Kory hid behind a pillar, while the others are waiting on the main school entrance. On the corner they saw three boys doing no particular thing.

"This is their usual hangout," Jenny whispered, "H.I.V.E. is a group of student 'terrorists', they bully people, steal from other students, and all those bad stuffs."

"You used to be with them?" Kory asked.

"Yeah. But then I met Wally, and I realized what I did was wrong. So I quit the team," she explained.

"Why is this team not handled by the teachers?"

"Teachers don't have enough proof or evidence every time when the H.I.V.E. are accused to do something wrong. They eliminated most of the evidence and proofs," she replied.

"I see," Kory said.

"This is why I bring you here. If you ever meet them, know that they're bad guys. Stay away from them, never join them."

"Okay. So…who are they?" Kory asked.

"That bold and short kid over there is known as Gizmo, since he's good at mechanic stuffs. His real name is Mikron," she explained, "The big guy is called Mammoth, due to his size. He's the team bully. His real name is Baran. And that one is Billy. Math boy, but he's totally a cheater."

"Looks like a bad gang," Kory whispered.

"Come on, let's go home, the others are waiting," she whispered and ran to the school's main entrance.

They arrived at the entrance and met the others.

"You saw them?" Rachel asked. Jenny nodded, "I told her to stay away from them."

Karen couldn't take her mind out of Richard and Kory. She decided to talk about this with the others.

"Jen, Rachel, can I…talk for a moment?" Karen called. The two girls walked to Karen and left Kory.

"Just a moment Kory," Karen smiled to her.

"It's okay," she smiled back.

"What's up?" Jenny asked.

"Kory met Richard and now she fell for him," Karen said simply.

"Well, every girl on Jump City High fell for him," Jenny said.

"No, this is different. It's like…she really love him, not in a fan-like, in a…love-like!" Karen explained.

"But you told her he's with Babs…right?" Rachel asked worriedly. Karen slowly shook her head.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL HER?!" Jenny yelled.

"I didn't want to break her heart…I can't watch her upset…"

"But she has to face the truth, no matter how much it hurts," Rachel said.

Karen sighed again. "Well, I better tell her."

She walked over to Kory and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kory?"

She turned around and displayed that innocent smile.

"Yeah?"

"You…had that special feeling to Richard do you?"

"Was it so obvious?"

"Yeah, but that's not the main problem, the problem is…" Karen stopped. She couldn't say it.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Richard is…the coolest guy on Jump City High."

Kory paused a moment. The sentence was familiar, but she couldn't remember where she heard that from.

"So what?" she asked.

Jenny stepped forward and held Kory's hand. Jenny turned Kory to her left, right on time to see Richard and Babs walking out from the school, holding hands.

"Oh," was all Kory could say.

"Sorry," Jenny muttered.

"Karen," Kory's voice croaked, "why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't want to see you upset! I can't watch you sad looking at _them_," she replied.

Kory sighed. "It's okay, I'll…meet you guys tomorrow," she said sadly. She walked to the parking area and looked for her and her sister's car. It was gone.

"Where…is my car?" she asked to herself. Then, her cell phone rang. A text message just got in. It was from her sister.

It said, "Hey sis, I'm in a hurry, WHAT'S TAKING U SO LONG?!?! I'm going home first, can't pick u up l8r though. g2g."

She sighed. Her sister was always egoistic. At school, at home, no difference at all, she always prioritizes herself. Her first day was supposed to be perfect. But it's not.

"Need a lift?" Rachel appeared behind her. Kory put a tiny smile on her face.

"Thanks, Rachel."

_Meanwhile…_

Richard was walking on the parking area with Babs beside her.

"Richard, you don't look so well," Babs asked, "something wrong?"

Richard sighed. "No, it's just…I'm feeling that we're getting…"

Suddenly, Barbara's cell phone rang. "Hold that thought," she said and picked up her cell phone. She turned away and spoke to the person on the phone.

Richard sighed. This is what made them getting farther. She was always so busy, always thinking about other things, and he was always put aside when other things got in the way, not the opposite.

"Yeah. Sure, thanks," Babs closed her cell phone, "what was that, sweetie?" she turned to Richard.

"That was what," Richard replied, "you were always so busy and when school or family business stuffs got in the way, you got rid of me."

"What? No it's not like that," Babs responded.

"You never have time for me anymore! You…we…we're getting farther and farther! You didn't even call me last holiday," Richard frustrated.

Babs was getting upset, "I'm busy, Richard, and look at yourself! It's not like you spend much time with me these days."

"Well at least I still care about you and pick you up from your class today, so we can go home together! If I didn't, you might have been home all by yourself!"

"So what if I go home by myself?!"

"You mean you don't need me anymore?!"  
"Well maybe I don't!!" she yelled.

Richard didn't answer after her last response. It was the last thing he needed to hear. And what Richard's going to say is the last thing she needed to hear.

"It's over. We're done."

He got to his motorcycle and sped all the way home, leaving a stiff, standing Barbara behind.

-X-X-X-

Here's the chappie you liked most for rob/star shipper, THE BREAKUP OF RICHARD AND BARBARA!! MWAHAHAHA!!!!  
lol…I was being hyper   
As usual, 5 reviews per chapter   
Rynna


	6. After School

Richard got down from the motorcycle and entered his big mansion.

"I'm home," he said to himself.

"How's school?" a voice asked from the living room.

"Normal," he replied flatly.

The man turned around from his position on the couch, "you don't sound normal."

"Really, Bruce, I'm fine," he replied, putting down his bag and joining him on the living room, "how's your day?"

"Pretty much like yours," Bruce answered.

Richard sighed. Bruce knew something was wrong.

"What happened?"

"We broke up."

"Why?"

"Cause she never had time for me anymore. She doesn't need me anymore," Richard said, staring at the ground.

"How did you know that?" Bruce sat up from his relaxing position.

"She told me that herself."

Bruce sighed. "Well, now that it happened, what are you going to do?"

"Move on with life," Richard responded, "what else can I do?"

"Nothing," Bruce said, "I just don't want you to be too sad or emotional."

"I don't need her anyway," he replied plainly. Then, he remembered Kory. 'She's gorgeous and kind…maybe I'll talk to her tomorrow,' he thought and smiled.

"You've grown up, Richard. You can make your own decision. But make the right one," Bruce smiled.

"Thanks, Bruce," Richard returned the smile.

"Anytime," Bruce replied.

--

Kory arrived at her house. She got down from Rachel's car and waved her goodbye.

"Thanks, Rachel!" she waved.

"No prob!" she replied, and drove away.

Kory opened the front door and stepped in.

"I'm home," she called out. But there was no reply. Then, she was greeted by a little barking puppy.

"Hey, Silkie," she rubbed her puppy, "where's Koma?"

The little pup ran towards the dining table and barked. Kory cocked an eyebrow and walked towards the table. There, she found a piece of note from Koma, her sister.

It said, "I'll be home late, got a party to go to, make your own dinner, I'm bringing the car. Signed, Koma."

Kory sighed. "Another party? And on the first day of school," she said to herself.

She flopped on the couch and took out her book. "Better do some homework," she muttered.

Suddenly, she remembered Richard. 'He's so nice, and smart, and good-looking,' she thought dreamily, 'and the boyfriend of another girl.'

She tried to shake him off her mind. She opened her book and started doing homework.

Then, she remembered. "Oh, yeah, cheerleading practice," she mumbled.

She took out her cell phone and dialed Tara's number. "Hey, Tara…"

--

Rachel parked her car on the garage and walked in her house.

She opened the door and greeted a lady who was sitting on the living room, "Hey, mom."

"Hey," the lady answered flatly, "how's school?"

"Great, I got a new friend," Rachel smiled a little. "Is dad home?"

Arella sighed. "Don't hope too much, darling," she said, "I don't think he'll ever come back home."

Rachel muttered, "I hope he's okay."

"So, do you want to eat anything?" Arella asked.

"No, I ate much at school," Rachel replied, "thanks anyway."

"Okay. Why don't you go and do your homework?"

"I will," Rachel said and went upstairs with her bag.

She got in her room and opened her cell phone. "I wonder what Gar is doing…" she muttered.

She text messaged him and sent it to Gar's number...

--

Garfield walked into his house and threw his bag on the couch.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" he shouted.

"How's school, honey?" his mom asked.

"School's great! I get to meet a new friend," Gar replied.

"And I'm sure you got homework to do," his dad suddenly appeared.

"Steve, he just got home, let him rest!"

"You're babying him, Rita, the boy need to learn discipline and…."

"Hey, okay, I'm doing my homework!" Gar put up his hand in defeat, "but let me eat some snack first."

He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a plate of tofu-dogs. He ate them quickly and went to his room.

Just then, his cell phone rang. He flipped it open. "Text message," he muttered. He opened the message.

"Hey Gar, what r u doing? I'm bored," he read aloud, "from Rachel."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Wow, Rachel messaged me? What a rare event," he chuckled and replied the message…

--

"Wow, this place is beautiful," Karen whispered, "I've never been here before."

"You like it?" Vic asked, "We should go here more often."

They were walking side by side on a nearby beach, accompanied by the beautiful sunset setting.

Karen turned to Vic, "So, what do you wanna do now?"

"I don't know. What do _you_ wanna do now?" he asked back.

"Play tag," she replied, tapping on his shoulder, "you're it," she giggled and ran to the sea.

"Oh no, you don't," Vic ran chasing her to the sea, while Karen splashed her with the sea water. They were having fun the whole afternoon.

--

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Wally whispered.

Jenny untied the blindfold on her eyes and realized they were standing in front of the most expensive, glamorous, and elegant movie theater on the neighborhood.

"Wow," she muttered, "you brought us…here?"

"Anything for you," Wally smiled.

"This is…great," she whispered, "thank you," she hugged him.

"No problem," Wally smiled, "let's get in."

They both walked in the theatre. "Two please," Wally paid the ticket. Then, they watched a movie, the most romantic movie they both could tell…

--

Barbara got home and sat on her bed.

"Was I so annoying to him?" she muttered to herself. She took a deep breath and took out her cell phone, dialing Richard's number.

Richard, in his mansion, was doing his homework when his cell phone rang. He took it out and saw who it was. 'Babs,' he thought.

Babs was waiting for an answer. Finally, he picked it up.

"You don't need me anymore," Richard's cold voice replied her phone call.

"No, I'm sorry for that," she apologized, "I shouldn't talk like that."

Richard sighed, "Don't apologize, it's no use. We're not going back together."

"Maybe if you give me another chance, I…"

"Babs, I said no."

Babs stopped talking. "Fine. We're not meant to be, then."

"We aren't."

"Well, good luck with your decision. I hope you find someone else…and you're happy with her."

"…Thank you."

"Sorry about today. Goodbye, Richard."

"Goodbye, Babs."

Babs snapped her cell phone and closed her eyes. "It's his decision," she muttered. She went to the living room and decided to refresh herself.

-X-X-X-

Yeah, kinda pointless, but just giving a little story about each character. Okay, since this one isn't my best work, I'm gonna pull down my goal into 3 reviews   
but still…I want reviews from all of you that like my stories…criticisms are allowed   
Rynna


	7. On Stage and Cheerleading Practice

The bell rang, signing the end of the 3rd period lessons.

"Is it me, or does school is getting a little more boring?" Jenny asked.

"It's not you, I think so, too," Karen responded.

Kory walked over to Jenny and whispered, "So, how's your date last night?"

Karen, who apparently heard Kory, gasped, "YOU WERE ON A DATE?" she asked loudly.

Jenny and Kory quickly hushed her.

"Was it Wally?" Rachel asked. Jenny nodded and blushed.

"Well, someone here had a certain date with Vic, too," Rachel announced, looking at Karen.

Karen's eyes widened. "How on Earth did you know about that?!"

"I have my own ways," Rachel smirked.

"Okay ladies, spill it, how were your dates?" Kory asked.

"Mine is awesome," Jennny replied.

"Mine is fantastic," Karen replied.

"So we got two girls hooked up with two boys," Rachel said.

"Congrats. I assume you know your boys for quite a long time, huh?" Kory asked.

"Yeah," both replied.

"Now it's you and Gar," Karen said to Rachel.

"Shut up."

"Hey, I thought Kory had cheerleading practice today?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, but it's still in an hour. Wanna go for a walk first?" Kory asked.

"Sure, I didn't get to show you the artistic part of this school," Karen smiled.

"Cool! Can't wait to see," Kory followed Karen and the others.

They all walked towards a separate building. It was big and attracting. A few students and teachers were sitting on the audience seat.

"This is our school theatre," Jenny explained, "the place is kinda huge…all acting, dancing, singing, and stage activities are done here."

"Wow, this place is incredible!" Kory exclaimed.

"Yeah, Rachel likes to share depressing poems here," Karen said.

"My favorite place to share poems," Rachel said monotonously.

Then, they heard the mike screeched from the stage…

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, today I will be your MC on this year's art and music show! We'll be showing some talented students for the next few hours and…"

"Is that Logan?" Jenny asked to the girls while the green haired boy kept on babbling.

"…so stay and enjoy the show, with me, Gar Logan! Don't forget there'll be a prize for the best talent on this show!" he exclaimed as the audience cheered. "So, to pass the time and wait for our talented fellows, why don't hear a joke?" he spoke on the stage.

Kory and the girls groaned from the back of the audience seat.

"Why are ducks so funny? Because they can quack jokes!" Gar exclaimed.

Crickets are chirping all around. "Right," Gar cleared his throat, "ladies and gentlemen, our first contestant!" he moved to reveal the first contestant.

Garfield walked behind the stage and sat down. The girls entered the room where singers and dancers were preparing for their cue.

"Hey Gar," Rachel smiled.

"Hi girls," Gar greeted, "watcha doing here?"

"We were just taking a walk, and I was thinking, why not see the preparation for the art and music show?" Karen replied.

"Yeah. The practice schedule today is kinda tight," Gar replied, "hey, aren't _you_ supposed to be practicing too?"

Kory looked at Karen, "Practicing for what?"

Rachel replied, "Oh, we forgot to tell you, Karen is the best girl singer in Jump City High, and she'll be performing for the show later."

"Hey, why didn't you tell me?" Kory put up an annoyed face.

"Sorry. I don't like to brag," Karen said.

Kory decided to watch the practice from behind the stage.

"So, who's that?" she pointed to the boy that was blowing his horn on the stage, creating beautiful music.

"That's Mal Duncan. He's a great horn player. He got a great taste in music," Gar responded. Kory nodded and watched him play.

"Hey Rachel! Hi girls!" a voice called from behind them. A gothic girl dressed in black and red waved to Rachel and the others.

"Hey Toni," Rachel waved back.

Toni smiled, "Who's the new girl?"

"I'm Kory Anders," Kory smiled and stretched out her hand.

"Toni Monetti. Call me Toni," she shook Kory's hand.

"Toni," Kory said, "so you're joining the show?"

"Yeah, I'm doing modern dance," Toni responded.

"She's the best dance girl around," Jenny said.

"Shut up," Toni said. Mal was finished with his show. "Whoops gotta go out there," Gar said.

Garfield appeared on the stage and took a mike, "And that's Mal Duncan with his beautiful music," he announced, as the crowd clapped and cheered.

"Next, we have Toni Monetti and her gang, to show us some moves in her very own creation of modern dance!" Gar announced again. The crowd cheered as he went backstage again.

"That's my cue," Toni waved to the girls, "bye now!"

"Bye Toni," Kory waved.

"Hey, don't you like have a cheerleading practice to attend?" Karen asked Kory.

Kory looked at her watch, "Oh yeah, it's starting in 5 minutes."

"I should stay to practice," Karen said, "good luck with your practice!"

"Thanks, Karen!" Kory waved goodbye and walked out of the theatre with Jenny and Rachel.

--

"Are you sure you wanna try cheerleading, Kory?" Rachel asked.

"I can quit if you mind about it," Kory stopped walking.

"No, it's just…we don't wanna lose you because of Tara," Jenny said.

"I won't betray you, trust me," Kory smiled and continued walking to the gymnasium. Finally, they arrived at the gym.

"Hey, Tara," Kory waved. Rachel and Jenny were behind her.

"Hey Kory," Tara greeted sweetly, then glared at Rachel and Jenny, 'hi girls."

"Hello, Tara," Rachel spat.

"Here's your uniform, Kory," Tara handed her a set of clothes, "we'll be practicing in 5 minutes."

"Okay," Kory answered.

"Oh, and you see the basketball gang there?" Tara pointed to her left, showing some boys practicing basketball, "they're practicing for a competition. We're practicing cheers for them."  
Kory nodded again. "I'll meet you later near my locker," Kory turned to Jenny and Rachel.

"Okay. Good luck," Jenny said and left the gym with Rachel.

Kory went to the girl's changing room and put on her new cheerleading clothes. Then, she went back to the gym and joined the cheerleader team.

"You ready, Kory?" Tara asked. Kory nodded.

"Okay, first you have to master our basic cheerleading routine," Tara said, "follow my moves."

Tara took her pom-poms and held them tightly. Then, she began stretching her arms and legs in a pattern. She twirled around and put up a final pose.

"Now you try," Tara said. Kory nodded and took her pom-poms, holding them tight. She began to copy Tara's move, and finished it properly.

"Well done," Tara smiled, "but that's only the basic move. There's more to learn. I'm gonna teach you step by step."

With that, Tara showed her a series of moves and routines. Kory easily followed the moves.

"Good job, Kory, you're getting better," Tara said.

"I did my best," she answered.

"Okay, time to gather up the team. Girls, let's practice!" Tara called the rest of the team. They walked over to the edge of the basketball field (in the gym) and started cheering.

Tara shouted, "Ready, okay!" The girls started to move and cheer for the practicing basketball team. Kory had no problem with catching up on their moves.

Kory cheered and moved with the others. Then, he saw him. He was in that basketball team. 'He's in the basketball team! Cool!' she thought, 'no, don't do that, Kory. He got someone else.'

She cheered a little louder until he suddenly looked over to Kory's direction.

'That voice was familiar,' Richard thought.

He was running for the ball, but then he stopped. Their eyes locked. Kory suddenly stopped moving and cheering. They both stood there, just looking at each other.

Suddenly, she was bumped by a fellow cheerleader on her right, who was still concentrating to the moves, causing her and the other cheerleaders on her left to fall.

"Stop! STOP!!" Tara yelled. "Kory, we're supposed to jump left for the final pose!"

Kory stood up and apologized, "Sorry, Tara, I'm so sorry…my mind floated somewhere else…"

Tara sighed. "It's fine. But don't let _that_ happen on the competition day," Tara warned her. Kory nodded.

Richard was still staring at her before she fell down to the floor. "Richard, catch!" a voice yelled behind him. Richard didn't listen…until the ball hit his head.

"Time out! TIME OUT!!" the voice yelled again. Richard stood up and shook his head.

"Yo Rich, what happened back there?" his fellow teammate asked him with concern.

"Nothing, really, my mind drifted off somewhere else…sorry about that," Richard said.

The boy rolled his eyes. "It's okay for now, but I don't want to see _that_ on the big day," he said as Richard nodded.

The bell rang, signing the start of the 4th period.

"Well, that's all for today. You're dismissed," Tara announced. They went to the changing room and changed to the regular clothes.

"Practice is over, we're done for the day," the basketball captain announced. The boys went to the changing room and changed to their regular clothes.

After they all got out, they headed outside the gym and ran to class.

"Hey, wait up!" a voice called to Kory. Kory looked over her shoulders and found Richard running, catching up with her.

"Hey," Kory smiled.

"Hi. You're a cheerleader now?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just trying out and all. Don't know if it's really my talent, it's just for fun."

"That's great. I recently joined this basketball team."

"I saw that," Kory giggled.

"I knew you were familiar. Sorry I made you bumped there," Richard apologized.

"Sorry I made _you_ bumped _there_," Kory said back.

"We're even then. What's your next class?" he asked.

"Spanish," she replied, "you?"

"Spanish too," he smiled. Kory smiled back, but it quickly faded. She quickened her steps as Richard kept following her, and finally arrived at her locker.

"See you later," Richard waved.

"Yeah," Kory answered. She pulled out her Spanish textbook when Karen, Jenny and Rachel appeared beside her.

"Hey girls," Kory smiled.

"Hi," Karen said, "how's cheerleading?"

"Not bad. But Tara is a little harsh, though," Kory said.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

Kory tried to change the subject, "So…who's in Spanish this period?"

Karen responded, "Me."

"Let's go," Kory smiled, "Bye girls," she waved.

"Bye Kory," Jenny waved back.

-X-X-X-

Now, since I'm being a nice person and I'm in a good mood, I will TEMPORARILY release you from any review requirements. So you can review as much as you want, and I'm updating when the chapter is ready.  
REVIEW! It's that rectangle button over there…  
Rynna


	8. Spanish Class

Karen and Kory walked together to Spanish class. Karen noticed that Kory wasn't as cheery as usual.

"Kory, something wrong? What's with the sad face?"

Kory looked to her and forced a smile, "Nothing is wrong, just…thinking about cheerleading!" She grinned.

Karen raised an eyebrow. "You're bad at lying, y'know that?"

Kory sighed. She couldn't hide it anymore. "It's Richard, huh?" Karen asked. Kory nodded.

"He has a girlfriend, right? I met him today right after cheerleading practice and he was being so nice to me and…"

"You like him," Karen said.

"But I can't! He has a girlfriend."

"Well, just stop thinking about him. Pretend that he doesn't even exist."

"I can't, not now, at least," she answered. "He's in our class."

They both stepped in the Spanish class and looked for a vacant seat. They sat beside each other.

Then, two short twin boys came over to Karen and greeted her, "Hola Karen!"

"Hi boys," Karen giggled and waved.

"Who's this?" Kory asked.

"Meet Mas and Menos. They're Spanish transfer students, and as you can see, they're twins," Karen introduced. "They skipped a few grades. That's why they're so young."

"Hi, I'm Kory," she stretched her hand.

"Hola, Kory!" both greeted her and shook her hand.

Kory giggled. "You're cute."

The boys had hearts in their eyes as they drifted back to their seats.

"They're in track, too," Karen said.

Kory smiled and looked to another direction, just in time to see her boy wonder came in. He took a seat beside her and greeted her, "Hi again, Kory," he smiled.

Kory didn't answer. She just flashed a tiny smile to his direction.

"You don't look cheery," he said, concerned for her. "Is there anything wrong?"

Kory sighed. "You're not supposed to talk to me too much," she said flatly.

"Why?" he asked innocently.

Kory rolled her eyes. "You know exactly why."

"No I don't," he answered. He fished around and took a random guess. "Are you talking about Barbara?"

Kory didn't answer. Sensing that he'd hit the jackpot, Richard continued. "We kinda broke up."

She silently gasped. "Why?"

"She's getting farther and farther from me. We didn't have time for each other anymore and…well…I guess we just don't fit each other," he said.

"I'm sorry," Kory looked down.

"Don't be," Richard smiled.

Karen, who had been listening all along, yanked Kory to her direction and whispered, "You didn't make them break up, did you?"

"OF COURSE NOT!!" Kory whispered loudly.

Karen grinned, "Then go get your boy wonder." She pushed Kory back to her place.

A few minutes later, a short, hot pink-clad blonde strutted into the room, princess style.

"Hi, everybody!! Miss me?" she yelled.

Kory gasped in surprise, and Richard's eyes widened.

"KATIE?!" they both yelled. Then, they looked at each other, "You know her?!"

"Hello, Kory," Katie greeted bitterly. Then with a more flirtatious tone added, "Hi, Richie-poo!"

"Richie-poo?" Kory cocked an eyebrow.

"Richie and I were in the same school a few years ago. Then I moved from the AMAZING Gotham, hearing that Richard studied here, and I moved here! Isn't that wonderful?" she screeched. "Well, except the part with _you_ being here, Kory," Katie rolled her eyes.

"How did you know her?" Richard asked.

"She's my neighbor. Three blocks away from my house," Kory said.

"If your Gotham was SO AMAZING, why didn't you stay there and not bother to come here?" Karen spat.

"Well, Karen, I thought _my_ Richie-poo missed me, so I moved here to be with HIM!" she screeched again.

Kory whispered to Karen, "You know her too?"

"Long story, but yeah," Karen answered.

Richard leaned in to Kory, "Trust me, I'd never have _anything_ to do with her," Richard quickly whispered.

Kory giggled, "I know. From the way she said it."

Katie took a seat in front of Richard and started babbling about herself to Kory. Kory didn't listen, though…

"…and my daddy owns the biggest factory in Jump City!"

Richard groaned in exasperation at her annoying antics.

"Right…" Kory managed to pretend listening.

Katie moved her eyes from Kory, to Richard, to Kory again, and to Richard again.

"Is there anything going on between you two?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, there's nothing…" Richard managed to say.

"Yet," Kory whispered to herself. Richard didn't hear her, but Katie did. She gave Kory a disgusted look and a fake smile.

"It's nice to see you at home _and_ at school, Kory," Katie said.

"Yeah," Kory said half-heartedly.

"That gives me two places to humiliate you," Katie whispered to her. Kory glared.

Karen didn't dare to do anything. The tension between Kory and Katie was pretty high.

Richard coughed and both girls' attention went back to him. Richard wanted to say something, but then their Spanish teacher came in. She wrote an assignment on the board and left the class.

Everyone worked their assignments and finished just in time. The bell rang, signaling the end of the 4th period. They got out of the class and headed for their lockers.

"See you later, Kory," Richard smiled.

"'Bye, Richard," Kory waved and walked out with Karen.

"You had some improvement with him back there," Karen smiled, "though it could've gone better without that Katie ruining our class today."

"She seems…really girly," Kory commented.

"Well, she _is_ a girl. But I agree. She acts like a little princess way too much," Karen replied. They went to their lockers and met the others.

Jenny and Rachel were there, talking about something…no, someone.

"Who's the hot gossip?" Karen asked.

"You had Spanish today, right?" Jenny asked. Karen and Kory nodded. "Then I assume you met Katie," she said.

"Oh yeah, we had a thrill in Spanish when she came," Karen answered sarcastically.

"Let's forget about this and take our next classes," Kory broke the conversation. "Is there anybody in science class?"

"I'm in science," Rachel replied.

"Cool, let's go together," Kory said. "I'll see you guys later!" She waved and headed for science class, in the laboratory.

-X-X-X-

Review, and I'll give you a big ICE CREAM!!  
I'm begging on my knees for you all to review…  
Rynna


	9. Catfight

"We didn't get to show you our school's lab," Rachel said.

"I'm about to see it now," Kory smiled. They arrived and Kory stepped in the lab.

"I'm not surprised this time," Kory said, looking around the gigantic science laboratory. There were many facilities in there, and the room was filled with group tables, capable of 4 students per table.

"Quite high tech, huh?" Rachel smiled.

"Quite," Kory responded. "Let's take a seat."

Kory and Rachel sat on a table, but then Rachel stood up.

"Oh, I forgot my science notebook," Rachel said. "I'll be right back."

Rachel went out the lab and headed for her locker, while Kory just sat there alone. Then, Gar approached her.

"Hey Kory," he greeted her.

"Hi Gar," she smiled, "what's up?"

"Nothing but the ceiling, baby," he chuckled.

Kory giggled, "I'm in the mood for funny things, so I'm gonna laugh just this once."

Then, Tara came in the lab. She looked around the lab and found the table with Gar and Kory sitting there.

She walked over to them and put her stuffs beside Gar. "Hey Gar, hey Kory," she greeted.

Gar didn't reply her, he just stared at her. Kory replied, "Hey Tara."

Then, he snapped out of his daydream. "Hey Tara."

Tara smiled and looked over to the spot beside Kory, but the seat was empty. "Who sat there?" Tara asked.

"Rachel," Kory simply replied. Then, her eyes widened. 'Rachel,' she thought, 'I am SO DEAD…'

"Rachel, huh?" Tara made a disgusted look, "Oh well, there's you and Gar here."

Gar continued staring at her, while Kory was screaming in her mind. Then, a few minutes later, Rachel came in. _That _was when the problem started.

Rachel, holding her notebook, standing on the front door, looked towards her table. She found Kory, Garfield, and Tara… 'TARA?!' she yelled in her mind. Rachel gave Kory a killer look. Kory mouthed a "sorry", while Rachel didn't know what to do, until…

"Hey, Rachel," Gar waved.

Rachel forced a smile and hesitantly walked to her table. "Hey Gar," Rachel replied, setting her notebook on the table and sat down. "Hello, Tara," she greeted bitterly.

"Hello, Rachel," Tara greeted back in the same way Rachel greeted her.

Kory didn't dare to do anything. Gar looked at both of them, and tried to think of a conversation subject.

"So, uh…how are you guys doing?" Gar asked nervously.

"Fine," Rachel and Tara replied at the same time, not bothering to look at Gar. Rachel opened her textbook and decided to read something, while Tara opened her notebook and started to write.

Kory and Gar just sat there as silence overwhelmed them. Then, Tara decided to speak up.

"So Gar, how's your MC practice going?" she asked.

"It's going great, but I just don't get why people won't laugh at my jokes," Gar chuckled.

"Why not? They're kinda funny," Tara smiled a little.

"Being an MC is just greeting the people, calling the contestants, and say goodbye to the people at the end," Gar explained. "Are you coming to watch the show?"

"Of course, Gar! I love art and music," she smiled, stealing a little glance at Rachel, who was pretending to read her textbook. The dark girl glared at Gar and Tara. She felt a wave of jealousy hitting her hard.

"So, um…you wanna go out sometime?" Gar asked again, very nervously.

"Of course, I'd like to go out with you, Gar!" Tara replied a little loudly.

Rachel's eyes shot up and glared at Tara. Tara smirked a little, looking at Rachel's eyes. Kory's jaw hit the floor. Gar just asked Tara out in front of Rachel!! How could he?

"Um, Garfield, can I…talk to you for a minute?" Kory stood up and walked towards the door.

"Uh…okay," Gar replied and followed Kory. Tara and Rachel were left alone at that table…

They both got out of the lab and Kory spoke up, "Garfield Logan what did you just do?!"

"What? What did I do?" Gar asked defensively.

"You asked Tara out!" Kory yelled.

"Yeah, isn't it great? I made my first move and…"

"IN FRONT OF RACHEL!!"

Gar fell silent. "What's the big deal?"

Kory sighed, "You aren't sensitive, aren't you?" she asked. Gar shook his head.

"Rachel got feelings for you, Gar! And did you know what you just did to her?!"

"She…does?" Gar asked.

"A little, I guess. I thought you knew each other for quite some time," Kory said.

"Yeah, well…I didn't notice…sorry," Gar stared down the floor. "Besides, I don't even know if she's the one for me, and I really like Tara."

"I know Tara is a great person, I kinda admit that too. But Rachel and Tara have a personal problem right now…"

Gar sighed, "Now what should I do?"

"There's nothing else you can do. All you can do now is minimize flirting with Tara in front of Rachel. Got it?" Kory advised. Gar nodded.

"Good. Let's get back inside," she said. They both opened the door and got ready to step in, but they stopped when they saw what happened inside.

The lab was a mess. Equipment fell and crashed everywhere, books are scattered on the floor, and students with surprised and scared expressions pinned themselves to the wall, except for Rachel and Tara. The girls mentioned above were fighting each other, rolling on the floor like fighting cats.

"Rachel?" Kory questioned.

"Tara?" Gar looked in disbelief.

"Admit it, you're just jealous, witch!" Tara yelled.

Raven was totally out of control by that time, "One more word and I'll…"

"Rachel, stop!" Kory pulled Rachel away from Tara, while Gar was helping Tara up.

"What happened?" Gar asked.

"That girl just called me a worthless witch!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Me? You were the one jealous and threw your stupid book to me!" Tara defended herself.

"I did not mention anything about jealousy!"

"No need, it's just obvious!"

"STOP!! BOTH OF YOU!" Gar yelled. Everyone fell silent.

"What is your deal?! You both messed up the lab and ruined our science class! You should be thankful there's no science teacher today!" Gar yelled again.

The bell rang. All students went out of the lab, except the three girls and Gar.

Tara huffed and picked up her stuff, "Don't mess with me, Rachel. I'm warning you," she said and got out of the lab.

Gar sighed, "Sorry Rachel, I…better go talk to her," he picked up his stuff and got out of the lab.

Kory helped Rachel gather her stuff and walked out with her.

"What actually happened?" Kory asked on the way walking to their lockers.

"Didn't I tell you? She called me worthless witch and said that I was totally jealous of Gar's move to her and…"

"Calm down, Rachel. You better not mess with her again. You're gonna get hurt," Kory said.

Rachel sighed, "Fine."

They arrived at their lockers and met Jenny and Karen.

"Rachel, where did those come from?" Karen pointed to the bruises and scratches on Rachel's arms and face, without saying "hi" first.

"She got in a fight with Tara," Kory explained.

"What did that blonde freak want from you?" Jenny asked.

"Gar asked her out, and she was showing it off, accusing me of being jealous, even though I am, but I didn't admit that, and she called me a worthless witch. And I threw my book at her, and she fought back, and so on…" Rachel explained.

"Wow, that was…wait, GAR ASKED HER OUT?!" Karen asked.

"Life is full of strange things," Jenny said.

"If she didn't betray us that day, she would've been a real good friend," Karen muttered.

"She's okay when she's nice. But when she's bad, she's awful," Jenny agreed.

"I was afraid to admit it, but now that you guys said that, I think there are good sides of Tara. We just have to bring it up," Kory said.

Everyone looked to Rachel and she responded, "I miss the old her."

Kory decided to change the subject. "So, is anyone on music class?" Kory asked. Nobody responded.

She sighed. "Well, I'm on my own, then. Bye now," she waved.

"Bye Kory," the others waved back.

-X-X-X-

Yeah, this one is mainly bb/rae, but rob/star is coming the next chapter!!  
So REVIEW PPL!! If you don't review I'm gonna make the requirements again…  
No pressure though, I'll give you a big CANDY! YAY!!  
Rynna


	10. A Pair of Pianos

Kory looked at her school map, since it was her first music class. Finally, she found the class and stepped in. The room was enormous, just like other classes. She looked around, spotting trombones, a set of drums, guitars, flutes, trumpets, baritones, and two pianos.

'Wow. What class isn't enormous in this school? I'm guessing none,' she thought.

The room had no tables, only seats on one side of the room for the audience and more seats, though these were coupled with instruments, for the students.

She settled down on a seat and observed her surroundings, looking for Richard. She didn't find him until she felt a palm land on her shoulder.

"Hi again," a voice greeted her. _His_ voice. She turned around to see him.

"You again," Kory smirked. He sat down beside her on the seat. He pulled out a music book that attracted Kory's curiosity.

"What's that?" she asked curiously.

"A bunch of music sheets. They were my mom's," he said. "Got good songs in it, wanna check it out?" he handed her the book.

She smiled and took the book. She opened it carefully and looked inside. It was a collection of classic piano songs by Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach.

"So you're playing the piano?" Kory asked again.

"Yeah, my mom taught me how to play it. What are you gonna play?" he asked back.

"The piano, too," she smiled. "So, which song are you playing?"

Richard thought for a moment, "I don't know…what are you gonna play?"

"Classic Für Elise," she replied. "Not creative, I know, but I just love that song."

"I can play that too," he smiled. "Um…do you wanna…play together?" he asked nervously, remembering that there are two pianos.

Kory beamed, "Sure!"

The teacher came in to the class and made an announcement, "Alright students, you can play any instrument here, any song, and just have fun with your music. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." With that, the teacher went out from the class.

The students went to the instruments area and began practicing different songs.

Richard looked over to Kory, "Wanna practice?"

Kory nodded and they both went to their pianos. Kory started first, and then Richard followed.

All the students who were practicing their own music could hear Kory and Richard playing together. They all stopped practicing to watch them playing the song.

Für Elise, classic yet sweet. They played in perfect harmony and decrescendo'd to a soft, even sweeter finish. Everyone clapped as their last chord died. Kory and Richard went back to their seats as the others continued practicing.

"That was awesome," Kory said.

"You did well too," Richard smiled.

The two were in a perfect moment, when Kory unconsciously dropped all of her music sheets to the floor. They scattered everywhere.

She gasped. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry," she apologized.

"No harm done," he smiled again and helped her collecting her music sheets. All the sheets were collected, except one.

Both were trying to pick it up, when their hands met on the paper. They both looked up and Richard quickly withdrew his hand.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's okay," she smiled and picked up the paper. When the mess was cleaned up, they sat back on their seats.

They finished practice, so the rest of the time was theirs.

"So…tell me about yourself. Family, school, anything," Kory smiled.

"Alright. My name is Richard John "Dick" Grayson. My friends call me Richard, but there are a couple of jerks that call me Dick. I was from Gotham and I live with my adoptive dad. His name is Bruce Wayne, and…"

"Wait. Bruce WAYNE?" Kory asked in disbelief.

'That might've been too much information,' he thought. "Um, yes," Richard responded.

"So that's why you're the coolest kid in school. Because you're Bruce's adoptive son," Kory said.

"Maybe. But that really doesn't matter," Richard shrugged. "Should I continue?"

Kory nodded and Richard continued. "My parents died because of a bomb incident, and Bruce is their friend, and now I'm with him," he explained.

Kory was silent. Then, she spoke up, "Where do you live?"

"Not far, about 10 blocks away from the school," Richard explained. "Now _you_ tell me about yourself."

Kory started, "Okay, my name is Korianna Anders, Kory Anders for short. I'm from Tamaran and I moved because the country is _way_ too isolated. I live with my Sister Koma Anders and a little puppy I named Silkie."

"Silkie?" Richard cocked an eyebrow.

"I couldn't find a cuter name," she giggled. "My parents died…and I told you why…and I live a little far from here. Can't go home without wheels."

Richard chuckled. 'She's really beautiful…and nice…'

Kory was staring at him. 'His smile is so irresistible…'

The bell suddenly rang, ruining their happy thoughts. They got up and packed their stuff.

Kory was ready to say goodbye when Richard suddenly pulled out his cell phone and asked, "Can I have your number? It'll be nice if we can chat sometimes..."

Kory exploded on the inside. 'HE ASKED ME FOR MY NUMBER!! AWW!!'

She tried to stay calm and took his cell phone, typing her number in. "There," she said.

"Thanks," Richard smiled AGAIN and turned to leave, but Kory stopped him.

"Wait," Kory called out, taking out her cell phone. "Your turn."

Richard chuckled and typed in his number, then gave it back.

"Thanks. See you tomorrow!" Kory waved.

"Bye Kory," he smiled for the millionth time.

It was a perfect class.

-X-X-X-

Here you go, rob/star fluffy chapter! Hope you're happy…  
If you're happy and you know it please review…  
the requirements are…

…

FINE!! No requirements this time. But I'm going to see how much reviews I get later.  
Review, or beware, the requirements will come back…  
Rynna


	11. Sleepover

"…But don't worry, I'll give you a ride home."

"I don't care what you do to her, as long as I have a ride home," Koma said to Katie.

"It's a deal then. GIZMO!!" Katie screeched.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" he screeched back.

"Time to do what you do best," Katie smirked.

"Where's my PAYMENT?!" he asked harshly.

Katie rolled her eyes and stuffed $100 to Gizmo's hand. He complained, "Hey, this isn't the nominal in the deal!"

"That's because you haven't done _all_ the work included in the deal. Now DO IT!!" she screeched again.

Gizmo rushed over to a car in the school's parking lot. He pulled out his tools and started working…

_Meanwhile…_

"Okay, girls, I'll see you tomorrow!" Karen waved.

"Bye girls!" Jenny waved.

Rachel and Kory waved back. Then, Rachel noticed that Kory isn't in a rush to go home like everyone else.

"Um…aren't you supposed to be going home?" Rachel asked.

"I'm really not in a rush. Besides, my sister would already be home with my car anyway," she sighed. "I was thinking of cleaning up that mess in the lab."

Rachel felt guilty. "Oh. Kory, I'm sorry I can't stay and help you…I had plans with my mom," she apologized.

"It's okay. It's better to do something here rather than staying home, bored," she chuckled. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Bye Kory. Thanks a lot!" Rachel waved and left the school.

Kory smiled to herself and walked towards the science laboratory. Yes, the place where Rachel and Tara fought over something totally pointless.

Kory arrived there and switched on the lights. Yep, the lab was still a mess. No one had even bothered to touch this. Rather than having the whole science class punished tomorrow, she'd rather clean it up today.

She settled her bag down and grabbed a broom from a corner of the lab. She started sweeping the broken materials and returned the other things to their places.

Two hours later, she was finished. She cleaned the whole gigantic laboratory. She washed her hands on the nearest sink and settled the broom to its place. Then, she grabbed her bag, ready to go home.

She looked at the window and was disappointed at what she saw. It was raining very hard.

'I better get going to a bus stop,' she thought. She didn't think of her car at all, she didn't expect it to be still in school remembering her sister's attitude. She switched off the lights and walked out of the lab.

She walked down the empty hallways towards the parking area. Nobody was there, even the teachers were already home. She didn't expect anyone to remain there at this hour, though.

But then, she saw a shadowy figure far in front of her. The figure was walking towards the parking area, too. Then she realized who it was…

"Richard!" she called out.

Richard looked behind her with a questioning look, "Kory? What are you still doing here?" he asked.

Kory ran and caught up with him. "I just cleaned up the lab. Kind of a mess…"

"Wow, you actually bothered with that?" Richard chuckled. "Don't want to get punished, huh?"

Kory cocked an eyebrow, "You knew about the fight?"

"It spread like fire," Richard said, walking towards the parking area with Kory. When they reached outside the school, the wind blew strongly and the rain was getting harder and harder.

"Where's your car?" Richard asked loudly, fighting over the sound of wind and rain.

"Over there," she pointed to a car a few meters from them. 'How did Koma get home?' she thought to herself.

Kory walked over to the car and got in. She pulled out her car keys and started her car…but it wouldn't start.

The wind stopped blowing. The rain got a little softer…

Kory tried again…and again. But her car wouldn't start.

"Something wrong with your car?" Richard asked her.

"It won't start," Kory kept trying. "I don't know why…"

"I'll get you to the nearest bus stop," Richard offered.

"No, I don't want to put you in trouble," Kory refused.

"Really, it's okay…I'd rather you be home safe than stuck here trying again and again to get your car to start," Richard said.

Kory sighed. "Stupid car," she mumbled. "Thanks, Richard."

He smiled, "No problem."

Kory stepped out from the car and decided to leave it there until tomorrow. Maybe she could call a mechanic or something.

"Sorry to put you in much trouble," Kory apologized.

"No, it's okay. Besides, the nearest bus stop is only a few blocks away from my house. We're going the same direction," he answered.

They both walked and almost arrived at Richard's mansion. Suddenly, rain began to fall in sheets. The wind started to blow hard. A storm was moving in.

"Not again," Kory yelled through the noises.

"There's going to…be a storm…" Richard yelled, trying to walk through the rain. They arrived in front of Richard's mansion. Richard approached the mansion's door.

"Is this your house?" she asked loudly.

"Yeah, get in!" he yelled.

"What?"

"Get in! The bus might be stuck in traffic in weather like this! You won't even make it to the bus stop!"

"No! I don't want to make you…"

"Even if you made it there, you'd be home by midnight!"

"But I really don't want to…"

"A storm is moving in, Kory! Get in!" he yelled. Kory hesitated, but then obeyed. She got in to his mansion and they quickly closed the door.

"Wow, that was one big storm on its way," Richard chuckled.

"Are you sure I won't cause you any problems? The bus stop is just a few blocks away, really," Kory said.

"Kory, a storm is coming. You won't be able to wait long on the bus stop! Besides, I'm sure the bus won't be on schedule," Richard said. "You won't cause any problems."

"I guess I could stay until the storm is done," she mumbled. They walked through the large mansion. Richard was looking for Bruce while Kory was admiring the elegance of his mansion.

"Bruce, I'm home," Richard called out. Bruce came out from his room and greeted him.

"Why are you home late? There's a storm moving in, I thought you wouldn't make it," Bruce asked worriedly.

"I got some work to finish up," Richard said. Bruce nodded and his eyes moved to Kory. "Who's this?" he asked.

"A friend," Richard smiled. Hearing this, Kory stood up and walked over to Bruce. "Her car broke down and I was taking her to the bus stop when the storm came," Richard explained.

"I see. What's your name?" Bruce asked.

"Kory Anders, sir. You can call me Kory," she stretched out her hand.

"Kory. Well, you can call me Bruce," he shook her hand.

"I know," she smiled.

Kory sat back down on the couch as Richard talked with Bruce.

"The storm is really bad, we should let her stay for dinner," Bruce smiled.

"You'll actually allow that?" Richard asked. Bruce nodded and made a little smile on his face.

"We should take her home later, too. Don't want her to wait all afternoon on that bus stop," Bruce said again.

"Thanks, Bruce."

Bruce chuckled, "That's supposed to be Kory's line…you got attached to this girl," he smirked.

Richard shot him a glare. "What?" Bruce asked innocently. Richard shook his head and made his way over to Kory.

"Kory?"

"Yeah?"

"Bruce and I were thinking…if…you would like to stay for dinner with us," Richard asked nervously.

Kory smiled, "Thanks, Richard, but don't you think I've already intruded enough? You had to walk me home and then I have to wait out the storm at your house and now I have to stay for dinner..."

"You really don't cause any trouble, Ms. Anders," Bruce suddenly appeared. "We'd be happy to have you here."

"Well…I guess I can stay for dinner," she smiled.

"Great," Bruce smiled back and prepared diner. Kory pulled out her cell phone, text-messaging her sister, saying, "I'm staying out late at Richard's house for dinner. Car broke down, I'll fix it tomorrow. Don't forget to feed Silkie."

With that, she sent the message and snapped her cell phone shut.

"The storm isn't stopping, huh?" Richard chuckled.

"Yeah. I wonder what to do with my car…" she muttered.

"You know Vic Stone, right?" Richard asked. Kory nodded in reply. "He's quite a mechanical genius. You can ask him to fix your car," he advised.

"Thanks, Richard," she smiled.

They both chatted until Bruce came out. "Alright fellows, dinner's ready," he announced.

Richard, Kory, and Bruce sat on the dining table. They chatted while eating dinner.

"So, Kory, are you new in Jump City High?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, I moved from Tamaran with my sister," she answered.

"I see. Where do your parents work?" Bruce asked again.

Kory didn't answer immediately. Bruce cocked an eyebrow in confusion, until Richard coughed uncomfortably between the long pause.

"Oh," Bruce replied in understanding. "Sorry."

"It's okay, really," Kory smiled a little.

Bruce smiled back and they continued dinner, talking about themselves. After they finished dinner, the storm was still running. Kory couldn't get out yet, so Bruce offered to let them watch a movie. The three of them watched it at first, but then Bruce got some work to do, leaving Kory and Richard alone.

They were watching it together without chatting or speaking to each other. They enjoyed each other's company.

As the movie finished, the storm quieted. The rain stopped and the wind blew normally.

Richard got up from the couch and spoke up, "Hey, the storm is over, you want me and Bruce to…"

He stopped talking when he saw Kory on the couch, asleep. "…drive you home?" he continued. The girl looked very peaceful in sleep. Richard sighed and went to call Bruce.

He went to Bruce's room. "She's asleep," Richard said.

"Really?" Bruce asked.

Richard nodded. "Maybe we should let her sleepover here," Richard suggested.

"Alright, she can stay for the night," Bruce answered. "Take the spare room."

Richard smiled and went back to the couch. 'She looked so cute when she's sleeping,' he thought.

He slowly lifted her from the couch, careful not to wake her. He brought her upstairs to a spare room, and slowly laid her on the bed. He took a blanket and covered her with it.

"Goodnight," he whispered. He left the room and switched off the lights.

-X-X-X-

So, do you likey? I likey if you likey…  
Pointless yet fluffy XD  
Please review, I'm totally begging you… I'm not gonna put up the requirements again…  
review, and I'll give you a lollipop :)  
Rynna


	12. Good Morning

Kory's cell phone rang from her bag. She woke up half heartedly and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she answered the phone in a sleepy voice.

"KORIANNA ANDERS WHERE ARE YOU?!" the voice yelled. Yes, it was Koma, her sister.

Kory gasped, realizing she must've fallen asleep in Richard's mansion. She looked at her surroundings, and it was a bedroom she'd never seen before.

"I'm uh…with a friend," she thought of a reason. "I'm walking to school right now! With my friend."

"Fine. Whatever you do, don't get yourself lost or killed," Koma said and hung up the phone.

Kory sighed. She looked at the clock on her cell phone. 'Phew. Not late to school,' she thought. She pulled out some spare clothes from her bag and walked out of the room. She looked around and found Bruce heading her way.

"Awake already Kory? It's early, even Richard is still asleep," Bruce greeted her.

"Yeah. Sorry I fell asleep last night." She looked at the floor.

"It's okay. So…you're looking for the bathroom?" Bruce offered. Kory nodded.

"Down that hall and turn right, second door from the left," Bruce directed.

"Thank you," she smiled and headed to her destination.

She took a shower and prepared for school. Thankfully, she had all the books she needed for school today. She didn't have to go home to take any of her stuff. She went downstairs to the dining room and decided to repay Richard and Bruce. She looked at various ingredients in the kitchen and managed to make some pancakes.

Then, Richard came downstairs, ready for school. "Breakfast?" he asked in confusion.

"I decided to do something nice since you did something nice for me," Kory smiled.

"Wow, thanks," Richard sat down.

"And thank _you_ for letting me sleepover tonight," Kory said.

"No problem," he smiled.

A few moments later, Bruce came in to the dining room. "Since when do you cook breakfast, Richard?" Bruce asked.

"Kory made all this," Richard said.

Bruce turned to Kory and said, "You really don't have to do all this, you know. You're making Richard get lazier."

Kory giggled, "No, I was thinking I should help around here since I stayed here last night." She served her pancakes on the table.

"Thank you, Kory," Bruce sat down on the table. Kory poured some orange juice for the three of them. And they all had breakfast together.

After breakfast, Richard and Kory got ready to go to school.

"We're off, 'bye Bruce!" Richard said and got out from his mansion.

"Thank you so much for last night," Kory added.

"Be good at school!" Bruce replied to both of them. 'They made a good couple,' Bruce thought.

Kory and Richard walked to school together.

"You got all your stuff there?" Richard asked.

"Yeah. Good thing I brought some spare clothes yesterday," Kory answered.

In minutes, they arrived at school. Kory's car was still there, a little damaged from the last night's storm. They walked in to the building to see the regular school scene.

"Well, see you later," Richard waved her goodbye.

"Yeah, and thanks again for yesterday. You're a really great friend," Kory smiled.

"You too," Richard smiled back and blushed a little. Then, he went off to his locker. Kory smiled to herself and got ready for her first lesson, mathematics class.

"Hey Kory," Jenny greeted her.

"Hey Jen," she greeted back. "Where are the others?"

"Not here yet. This is early, you know," Jenny replied.

"Have you seen Victor?" Kory asked.

"No, why?"

"Oh it's nothing," Kory replied and smirked.

They chatted for a few minutes. Then, Karen and Rachel came over. "Hello, ladies," Karen greeted.

"Hey," Kory greeted back. Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the start of the first lesson.

"Aw, we didn't get to chat!" Jenny complained.

"Is anybody taking math class for first period?" Kory asked. Nobody responded.

"I'm on my own again," Kory said. "Bye now!"

"Bye!" the others waved to her. Kory walked to the mathematics class and sat on an empty desk.

"Well what do we have here?" a voice said to Kory. Kory turned around to see who it was. It was a boy with dark hair and brown eyes. "Is this cutie a newcomer?" the boy asked her. He smiled and stretched out his hand. "Xavier Redd," he introduced himself.

"I'm Kory Anders," she shook his hand. "Were you here last year?" Kory asked.

"Yeah, I love this school," he answered. "So, have you made any new friends yet?"

"Yeah, a few good friends," she responded.

A few minutes, Richard came in and sat down beside Kory.

Richard greeted her, "Hey, you didn't tell me you had…" He stopped when he saw Kory was chatting with Xavier. Kory and Xavier stopped talking and looked at Richard. He stared right back.

"Richard," Xavier greeted the boy.

"Xavier," Richard replied.

"Oh, um…you know each other," Kory said nervously.

"Yeah, we're good buddies, aren't we pal?" Xavier smirked and looked over to Richard.

"Yeah…buddy," Richard said bitterly.

"So, how long have you known each other?" Xavier asked in interest.

"A few days ago," Richard said. "I met her in Spanish class."

"I see," Xavier smiled. "What do you think of Richard, Kory?" he asked.

"He's…nice," Kory replied as she blushed.

"Okay, what do you think of _me_?" Xavier asked in a low voice, leaning in to Kory. Richard and Kory could hear him, though.

Before Kory could reply anything, Richard changed the subject. "So, did all of you finish your math homework?" Richard asked, pretending that he wasn't listening to Xavier's last sentence.

"Oh no, I totally forgot about it!" Kory exclaimed. "Can I borrow yours, Xavier?" she asked.

"Sure cutie," he smirked and pulled out his book.

"Thanks," Kory smiled.

Richard couldn't believe it. She asked Xavier instead of him! 'Guess that wasn't a good topic to talk about,' he thought.

Kory was doing her homework while Richard glared at Xavier.

"What's wrong, Richie?" he asked.

Richard didn't answer until Xavier chuckled. "I can see your jealousy. Better luck next time," he patted Richard's back.

"I am _not_ jealous," he replied.

"Is she your girlfriend already?" Xavier asked, ignoring Richard's answer.

"We met a few days ago. How can a boy and a girl hook up in pretty much no time?" Richard asked back.

"I'm taking that as a 'no'. Meaning, I still have my chances," Xavier smirked again.

'He has a crush on her. Great,' Richard thought.

Kory finished writing and closed her book. "Here Xavier, thanks," she said, handing him his book.

"You're welcome," Xavier replied, receiving his book. "That's one score for me," Xavier whispered to Richard.

Kory was busy studying mathematics so she couldn't hear both of the boys arguing.

"You're treating her like a trophy," Richard whispered back. "That's not something she would like."

"That's what _you_ think," Xavier replied.

"You know what? I don't care if you're with her. What I care is about if she likes being with someone like you," Richard said.

"You don't need to care about anything," Xavier responded.

That was it. Richard had enough. He heard the bell rang, signaling the end of the math class. He stormed out of the class without saying goodbye.

Kory saw that he was acting different. "Richard…?" she whispered.

"See you later, cutie," Xavier winked to her.

"Um, yeah…see you later," Kory managed to reply. Xavier walked out of the class. Soon, Kory walked out of the class, too.

'What's wrong with him?' Kory thought.

-X-X-X-

Hope you like this one…after this I won't be able to update as fast as usual…because school is coming…  
I HATE SCHOOL!!!  
yeah, so…since I haven't finished writing this whole story, I'll have to find some ideas, then I can update ;)  
so review!! Be a good reader and review… I don't care how early or late you are reading this, reviews will always make me smile :)  
I'm gonna give you…uh…  
-looks around the fridge-  
strawberries! Yay, strawberries!!  
Rynna


	13. Trapped

Lunchtime finally arrived. Kory's friends were busy lately. Karen had singing practice, Jenny had some "extra studies" with Wally, while Rachel was busy with her poems after she decided to join the show.

Kory's cheerleading practice schedules had tightened, too. She ate lunch quickly, headed to the gym, put on her uniform, and joined the team.

"Hey, Tara," Kory smiled.

"Hey, Kory," Tara greeted. "You're a little late."

"Yeah, I had a quick lunch and…"

"Okay, enough talking, more practicing. Get ready, girls!" Tara commanded. The cheerleaders got to their positions and started cheering. They cheered and made a formation, putting up a perfect finale pose.

"Great job," Tara said. "But that's not enough. We need to put in more spirit and energy!"

Tara was busy explaining their next new moves when Kory noticed the basketball team had arrived.

"I'll have to ask him later," Kory muttered.

"Okay. Let's take it from the top," Tara said. The cheerleaders started cheering again. Kory couldn't concentrate, though. She was concerned about Richard. Why didn't he even say goodbye before leaving the class?

"Kory! Your turn!" Tara called out. It was their individual cheering pose. Kory quickly set up her pose and finished the practice.

"Great job, girls! I want you to come fifteen minutes earlier for practice tomorrow!" Tara commanded again. The whole cheerleading team had cleared out except for Kory and Tara.

"Tara, we still have much time for the competition," Kory said. "You're taking this cheerleading thing way too much."

Tara walked over to her. "Fifteen minutes earlier, Kory. _No exception_," Tara repeated.

"You're a little stressed out, you know that?" Kory asked. Tara gave up.

"I _am_ stressed out, especially after what happened between me and Rachel," Tara sighed. "If I tell you something, promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I promise," Kory nodded.

Tara took a deep breath and started, "My date with Gar was totally messed up. He got mad last night."

"Why?" Kory asked.

"You don't wanna know," Tara said. "We had different opinions and perspectives…I don't think we fit well together. I think he got feelings for...Rachel."

Kory listened carefully. Tara was telling her about how hard it is getting Gar to like her. But this made her confused. Who is she supposed to support, Rachel or Tara?

"If I were you, I'd let Gar decide," Kory advised.

"You're right. I really should let him choose. Thanks Kory," Tara smiled.

"Anytime," Kory smiled back.

"Remember, don't tell anyone," Tara said and left the gym. Kory was about to leave until she remembered Richard. She looked to the basketball players, who were all still practicing.

She waited until the team finished, and walked over to Richard.

"Richard!" Kory called out and ran towards him. Richard turned around to see Kory.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he replied monotonously.

"You greeted me like Rachel did. Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"No," he responded shortly and walked out from the gym. A moment later, Kory caught up with him and blocked his way.

"Something is definitely wrong," she said seriously.

Richard sighed. He couldn't hide it anymore. "Xavier," he said shortly.

"What's with him?" Kory asked softly, walking with Richard.

"He used to be my friend…but rivalry took over him. He always wanted to be better and greater than me. He became selfish and, well…we're not friends anymore," he explained half of his worries. The other half was worrying about Xavier and Kory, but he didn't talk about it.

"I don't feel he's a total good guy, either. He flirted too much," Kory responded truthfully.

Richard smiled a little after hearing that. "You know what? Forget about Xavier. We got a lot of other things to worry about," he said.

Kory smiled too. After a few moments, they headed their separate ways.

"I guess I'll see you later," Kory said.

"Yeah. See you," Richard replied.

--

Kory walked to her locker, getting ready for the next class which started in 10 minutes. Then, she spotted Vic walking down the hallways. "Hey Vic, wait up!" Kory called out. She slammed her locker and ran after him.

Vic turned to see Kory. "Hey, little lady," he greeted.

"Hey," she smiled. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"What would that be?" Vic asked.

"My car broke down yesterday, and I have no idea what's wrong with it or how to fix it. Can you help me with that?" she asked.

"Sure thing, I'll try after school. It's that red one near the gate, right?" Vic answered.

Kory nodded. "Thanks, Vic," Kory said and gave him the number. She walked down the hall and was quite surprised to see her sister walking towards her. The seniors' floor is upstairs, why was she down there?

"Hey, sis," Koma smiled and greeted Kory.

"Hi," Kory greeted back. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help, sis. The seniors need some stuff from the basement for the art and music show, and they were sending me to get them. The problem is there's a _lot_ of stuff I need to get upstairs. Will you help me, _please_?" Koma pleaded, trying to puppy pout.

"But I have to get to class in…"

"Oh come on, it'll just take a minute!" Koma said, dragging her sister downstairs.

"Uh…okay," Kory said hesitantly.

They both ran downstairs and finally reached the basement's door.

"In here," Koma said and led her in the basement. She switched on the lights. Kory walked in, followed by Koma – not so closely.

"Okay, so what do you need?" Kory asked.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut.

"Koma?" Kory called out.

Then, she heard a click from outside the door, like it was being locked with a key.

"Koma?" she called out louder. "Where are you?" She walked to the door and found it was locked. She looked around the basement, but there was no sign of Koma.

"Oh no she didn't," Kory muttered. She tried to open the door by slamming her body into it. "Koma? I know you're out there!" Kory yelled.

Then, she heard poundings on the door. It was so loud that it shook the basement. It sounded like something really big was dropped on the ground.

"KOMA ANDERS!!" she yelled. No response. She sighed and slumped to the floor.

"Great," she muttered. A few seconds later, the lights went off.

"I spoke too soon," she muttered again. Then, she had an idea. "Cell phone!" she said to herself. She took out her cell phone from her pocket and tried to dial Rachel, but it didn't connect. Confused, she looked carefully at her cell phone screen.

"No signal?!" Kori yelled. She groaned in frustration and shoved her cell phone back to her pocket. 'Guess I'll just have to stay and wait.'

--

"That has better be worth it," Koma said to Katie, stretching out her palm.

"It is. Thank you Koma," Katie smiled wickedly and slipped $100 in Koma's hand.

"What about me?!" Mammoth stretched out his palm, too. "It took forever finding those giant rocks to block the door!"

"Here," Katie did the same thing to Mammoth. "Good job."

-X-X-X-

I managed to update another chapter…  
but I won't be able to update on 2 and 3 January, I'm off to vacation XD  
so…review!! And tell me what you want to see next.  
Let's see what's in the menu today, shall we? The next menu is…

…  
chocolate!! Yay!!  
So don't forget to click that rectangle button down there ;)  
Rynna


	14. Fresh Air

The school bell rang. Students walked out from their classes. They packed their stuff and walked out of the building, heading home. Karen, Jenny, and Rachel were hanging around on their usual spot.

"This math project is killing me," Rachel complained.

"Yeah, school's no fun anymore," Jenny added.

"Hey, where's Kory? She missed social studies today," Karen asked.

They all looked around, but found no sign of her.

"Probably finishing up something," Jenny shrugged.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Rachel muttered.

"I'll call her," Karen said and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Kory's number, hoping to hear a response.

They all waited. Karen pushed the end button and shoved her cell phone back to her purse. "I can't contact her," she said.

They were trying to figure out where Kory was, when Richard walked towards them.

"Um, hey," Richard greeted.

"Hi Rich," the girls replied.

"Have you seen…"

"Kory? We were wondering the same thing," Karen answered.

Richard frowned. "She's usually with you guys. Where could she be?"

"We're not sure either. She usually tells us if she can't meet us here," Rachel said.

They were all silent.

"I say we look for her. She might be in trouble," Richard said.

The girls nodded in agreement. "Let's go," Karen said.

"So he does have feelings for her," Jenny whispered to Rachel as she smirked.

"You bet," Rachel whispered back.

They looked all over the school, but they couldn't find her. They walked around the school and met Victor on the way.

"Vic, hey," Richard greeted him, with the girls behind him.

"Hey Rich, what's up?"

"We're looking for Kory. Have you seen her?" Jenny asked.

"No, in fact, I'm looking for her, too. I just finished fixing her car and the whole parking lot is almost empty," Vic said.

"So she's not home yet," Rachel said.

"Maybe she went home by bus?" Karen asked.

"No, she said she's going to meet me after school," Vic said.

"Something's totally wrong here," Jenny said.

"We better split up. It'll be faster for us to find her," Richard suggested. They all nodded and did as he said. They looked all over the school and found absolutely nothing.

Richard groaned in frustration. 'Where is she?' he thought. He tried to think of any other possible locations. The school lab, the parking lot, the cafeteria, the basement, the gym…

"The basement!" he said to himself. He ran with all the strength that he had left, and finally made it there. He walked over to the door and found it blocked by enormous rocks.

"Why are there rocks blocking the door?" he mumbled. He took a deep breath and gathered his strength, pushing the rocks away from the door.

"Kory?" he yelled while moving the rocks away. "Are you in there?"

Kory was stuck in the basement all day long and she could hardly breathe. There were no ventilations in the basement. The windows were closed and stuck that way, and the door was locked. "Richard?" she muttered weakly.

Richard successfully unblocked the door. "Kory? Is that you?" he yelled.

"Richard," she called out weakly. "Can't…breathe…"

"Hold on!" he answered and tried to open the door. He found it locked. Richard growled and kicked the door open. He made it into the basement. "Kory?" he called out.

"Richard," a voice replied. He ran in and found her lying on the floor, barely conscious.

"Kory! You okay?" Richard tried to pick her up.

"I…" Kory tried to answer, but she couldn't. She fainted in Richard's arms, not breathing.

"Oh no," he said softly. He ran out from the basement carrying Kory on his arms. He got in the building, heading for the school's health center. He burst in the door and quickly called a nurse.

"Is there something wrong?" a nurse appeared.

"She's not breathing," Richard quickly said. "She was locked in the basement and now she's not breathing!"

The nurse quickly prepared a bed and Richard laid Kory down. "Why was she locked in the basement?" the nurse asked.

"I have no idea, ma'am. My friends and I were looking for her and I found here down there," Richard answered.

The nurse examined her carefully. "I think she's okay. She's just out of air for the moment, that's all," she said.

Richard sighed in relief, "Thank you."

"We should let her rest for a moment. You can wait here," she offered.

"I will. Thank you," he smiled. The nurse left him and Kory alone. Richard text messaged the others, saying that he found Kory and now they're at the health center.

Richard's eyes moved over to Kory. A few moments later, she started to breathe slowy, and her eyes flickered.

"R-Richard?" she called out.

"Hey," he smiled. "Are you feeling okay now?"

"Yeah, I am. Thanks," Kory sat up. "How did you find me?"

"I looked _all over_ the school. Then suddenly I remembered the basement, and…I found you," he explained. "What were you doing down there?"

Kory sighed, "Koma locked me in. She said she needed help to gather some stuff for the show, but then she ran away and blocked the door."

"Why would she lock you?"

"I don't know, but there's something strange going on around here."

Then, Victor and the girls ran in the health center. They rushed to Kory's bed to see if she was okay.

"Girl, there you are, we were looking all over for you!" Karen exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked.

"I'm fine now," Kory smiled to Richard, and they both blushed.

"Where were you?" Rachel asked.

"I was locked…in the basement," Kory replied. "My sister Koma did that. She lied to me. I can't believe that."

"Good to hear you're okay," Vic smiled, "because I just fixed your wheels."

"Oh, you finished! Thanks Vic," Kory exclaimed.

"What is Koma's problem? It's not like you did anything to her…right?" Richard asked.

"She _is_ selfish, I have to admit. When my car broke down she left me and went home by herself…but that's normal. But why would she lock me there?"

"And your car. Why was it suddenly broken?" Vic added.

"I don't think my car had anything to…"

"Vic's right. Somebody's chasing you," Karen said.

"But who? And why?" Rachel asked.

They were trying to solve the mystery when the nurse suddenly popped out. "Wonderful, you're awake! Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Kory replied. "I have to go home now."

Richard and Kory stood up. "Thank you so much for your help," Kory said to the nurse.

"It is my job. You better get home, it's getting dark," she replied.

Kory nodded and left the room with the others. They walked out of the building together.

"Thanks you guys, thanks for everything," Kory said.

"No problem," Richard smiled.

"If you need anything, you can count on us," Jenny said.

They were on the way to the parking lot when they met Gar and Wally.

"Gar, Wally!" Richard called out. The two boys turned around to see the whole group walking towards them.

"What are you two still doing out here?" Vic asked.

"We were way too bored to go home yet," Gar said. "My parents are out of town, so I can go home anytime I want."

"So…what's the whole group doing here? Are we missing something?" Wally asked.

"You missed one big-time action there," Jenny giggled.

"What happened?" Gar asked.

"Kory got locked in the basement by her evil sister. And we just found her," Karen said.

"Oh, that's why you weren't in English today," Gar said

"And math," Wally added.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gar said to Vic.

"We were in a total rush, man. Something bad could happen to her if Rich didn't find her in time," Vic pointed to Richard.

"Richard to the rescue," Wally chuckled.

"Yeah. Thanks again, guys. I really have to go home now," Kory said.

"What about Koma? She might be up to something bad," Rachel warned her.

"I'll be fine. Besides, she might be at some crazy party right now," Kory shrugged.

"Call us if you need anything," Wally said.

"Yeah. We'll help you out," Gar smiled.

Kory smiled back and went home with her good-as-new car. That's when their friendship really started.

-X-X-X-

Yes, it's about time I updated… sorry I'm late at this, I got a bunch of homework and projects… also, my parents don't allow me to use internet as much as I used to before, because my school grades dropped this year, so…yeah…  
please review! The more you review, the happier I will be :)  
and I apologize _again_ for being late… please wish me luck so my grades will go up this semester…  
I'm updating next week...hopefully...  
and I'm out of food, so…who wants soda? XD  
Rynna


	15. Chats

Kory stopped by a café to refresh herself. She ordered a cup of coffee and some snacks. Kory took a sip of her coffee, thinking about what Koma did to her today. Why did that girl lie to her? Why did she lock her in the basement? And why…

"Hey cutie." Xavier suddenly appeared. "I didn't realize you were here." He took a seat in front of Kory.

"Hi Xavier," she said, smiling a little. "What are you doing here?"

"Drinking coffee, of course," he replied. "How was your day?"

Kory sighed, "Bad. I was locked in the basement all day."

"You were?"

"Yeah. But Richard saved me," she smiled again.

Xavier frowned. "Richard, huh? You think he's _that_ good?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been friends with him for some time. He's a nice guy, but not really that great. I beat him many times in a bunch of math competitions a few years ago," he chuckled.

"Well, maybe not mathematics," Kory said. "But he's good at playing the piano. He has a really great taste in music."

Xavier narrowed his eyes. 'So, Kory fell for Richard, huh? I'll show that boy who's boss,' he thought.

"Well, it's getting late, I should be going home," Kory stood up. "See you tomorrow."

"Later, cutie!" he waved to her. Kory got out from the café and went home.

"She's mine, Richard. You don't stand a chance," he muttered.

--

Kory stepped in her house and slammed the door. She stomped in and threw her bag on the couch. "Koma!! Get down here!!" she yelled.

No response.

"Running away, huh? Coward!" she said to herself. She got upstairs and entered her room. She flipped her cell phone open and dialed Richard's number. She didn't know why she did that.

"Hello?" Richard's voice answered the phone.

"Hey," Kory greeted. "It's me, Kory."

"Hi," Richard greeted back. "Are you home already?"

"Yeah," she said simply.

"What did you do to Koma?" he asked.

"She's not home. I don't care where she is right now," Kory said angrily.

Richard chuckled, "So you're alone at home?"

"Yes," Kory replied.

They didn't say anything for a while until Richard spoke up, "So, um…why are you calling?"

"Oh, sorry," Kory said and blushed. "I just needed someone to talk to."

"Yeah, looks like things didn't start really well this year, huh?" Richard asked.

Kory sighed, "I love this school, I really do. But I just can't handle the situation I'm facing right now. I don't think _everyone_ would accept me studying in Jump City High."

"What makes you think so?"

"My car broke down, but it was totally fine on the previous day. Someone must've done that on purpose. And Koma wouldn't lock me in the basement, unless…she got paid to do it or something," Kory explained.

"Well, whoever they are, it doesn't matter. You've still got good friends," Richard said in a comforting tone.

"Thanks Richard," Kory said and smiled. "Well, I have to go now…"

"Wait!" Richard exclaimed.

"Yeah?"

"Um…I'm having a…party next week…for my birthday...do you…wanna come?" Richard asked nervously. "Bruce wants me to invite all the students I know."

"Sure," Kory replied. "What time?"

"After school," Richard said. "It's on an empty yard a few blocks away from my house."

"I thought it was going to be a big party in a big building," Kory said truthfully.

"Yeah, I wanna make it different. You know, not too fancy," he shrugged. "So…are you coming?"

"I'll be there," Kory said. "Bye now."

"Bye, Kory. Thanks," Richard responded and hung up the phone.

"Did she say yes?" Bruce asked Richard.

"Yeah," he smiled, but then it faded. "Do I _really_ have to invite everyone?"

"Yes."

"Even Xavier?"

"Yes," Bruce repeated.

"…_Katie_?"

"Yes."

Richard groaned and ran his hand through his hair. Why must he invite _them_?

--

Xavier's cell phone rang from his pocket. He pulled it out and answered the phone.

"Talk to me," he greeted.

"Hey, you're Xavier Redd, right?" a girl's voice asked.

"Yeah, who's this?"

"Katie Moth. I'm sure you know me," she said.

"Katie," Xavier confirmed. "What do you want?"

"A partnership," she said.

"What kind of partnership?"

"Rumors said that you have a crush on Kory," Katie said. "And Richie is getting in the way."

"How did _you_ know that?" Xavier asked suspiciously.

"I have my own ways," Katie smirked. "Help me get the redhead out of my way, and I'll help you get Richard out of your way."

Xavier thought for a moment and spoke up, "Interesting. What do you have in mind?"

"You know next week is Richard's birthday, right? Well, he's having a party and I'm sure Bruce would want him to invite _everyone_ he knows, it happens every year. That would include you and me," Katie explained.

There was a pause before Xavier spoke up, "Continue."

"Your little cutie will also be invited. Both targets are going to be on the same spot. Then, we'll go into action," she said.

"What are you planning, _partner_?" Xavier asked in interest.

--

Raven started her car and got ready to head home. She closed the door when suddenly she heard a few knocks on the window. She looked up to find Garfield there. She pushed a button and her window slid down.

"What?" Rachel asked simply.

"Hey, I was wondering if…you could give me a ride home," Gar started nervously. "Wally was supposed to do that, but he ran away for a _date_ with Jenny."

Rachel thought for a while and spoke up, "Okay…I think I have time."

Gar grinned and opened the door beside Rachel. He got in and closed the door. "Thanks, Rachel," he said.

"No problem," Rachel smiled a little and went to Garfield's house. They arrived half an hour later with Gar's direction.

"Thanks again, Rachel," Gar smiled. "Wanna come in?"

"No, I really should go home," Rachel replied.

"Come on, just a few minutes?" Gar pleaded. Rachel hesitated, but then she accepted his offer, "Alright, but not too long."

She got out from her car and stepped in the house. She looked at the simple-and-stylish interior of his house. "Wow," she muttered.

"My parents are out of town, like I said before, so you can stay here as long as you want," Gar said and went to the kitchen.

Rachel saw a picture of Garfield and his family on the desk. She picked it up carefully and examined it. "So, these are your parents?" Rachel asked from the living room.

"Yeah," Gar replied and got out a drink. "Want some tea?"

Rachel smiled took the cup from his hands, taking a sip of the tea. She liked the situation. All alone with Garfield and no one could interrupt them, not even Tara. 'Tara,' she remembered.

"So…how was your date with Tara?" Rachel suddenly asked.

Gar froze before he could answer her question. 'She had feelings for me,' Gar thought of Kory's words.

"Um, yeah…it was kinda messed up," he answered.

"Really? What happened?" Rachel arched an eyebrow.

"You don't wanna know," Gar rolled his eyes.

"I…thought you really liked her," she said softly, looking at the floor.

Gar thought for a second. He liked Tara, it was true. But…was it for sure? He didn't know.

"Gar?" Rachel called out.

Gar's head shot up, "Yeah?"

"You didn't answer me."

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I kinda like her, but…I'm not really sure."

"Why not?"

"I…don't think we exactly fit well together."

"Why?" Rachel asked again.

"I was wondering the same thing," he mumbled. Rachel looked down again. It was truly an awkward situation.

"I…have to go home," Rachel stood up.

"Okay," he stood up as well. "Oh, and please don't tell anyone about this, I don't wanna be a topic for gossip."

"I won't," Rachel promised.

Gar smiled. "Bye, thanks for dropping by."

"See you," Rachel said and walked out from his house, driving her car all the way home.

"I'm sorry, Tara," Gar muttered to himself. "I think I love someone else."

-X-X-X-

Yay!! Another chappie!!  
I am SO SORRY I couldn't update as fast as before…  
I want reviews please…  
and yes, this is kinda pointless, but still…  
yeah…  
okay, move your little mouse towards the rectangle button down there :)  
Rynna


	16. Party Crasher

The whole week of school didn't change much. Lessons stayed the same, cheerleading practices were scheduled, the art and music show was being prepared, and the whole school couldn't wait for Richard's birthday party.

It was one day before the big party. Kory didn't go home as usual. She went blocks away from the school to a small cemetery. She looked at its gate and stepped inside, walking past a few gravestones, and then stopped in front of one with "Luan Anders" written on it. She knelt down and placed a bunch of flowers on it.

She sighed sadly. "Hope you're okay up there, mom," she muttered. "I miss you, even if I never knew you before."

She stood up and grabbed her bag. She took one last look at the burial place, and headed home.

--

Finally, the day arrived. It was Richard's birthday. Everyone went to their regular classes, and waited impatiently for school to end. After a bunch of boring and stressful classes, school had finally ended. The students burst out from the building, heading for Richard's party. Richard successfully reached the location before all the other students did. Bruce had set up a very large tent on an empty yard. He prepared everything that was needed for the party.

Karen, Jenny, Rachel, and Kory were on their way.

"I bet this party is gonna be really crowded," Jenny said.

"Well yeah, _all_ students Richard knows are invited. He knows a _lot_ of students," Karen said.

"I'm just gonna take you guys there, okay? Then I'm going home," Rachel said.

"Oh come on, Rachel! The party is gonna be a thrill! I'm sure Gar would be there, too," Jenny winked.

Rachel blushed and quickly replied, "Fine."

Kory stayed quiet the whole time. She didn't tell anyone about yesterday, she was thinking so much about it. Karen looked at Kory and realized she wasn't talking much. "You're quiet," she said. "Aren't you happy going to the party?"

"Of course I am," Kory replied and managed to smile. "I'm just a little…nervous," she lied. This time, they suspected nothing.

"Nervous, huh?" Jenny said.

"Oh please, it's just Richard! It's your best friend's birthday and you're supposed to be happy," Karen said.

"Did you get him a present?" Rachel reminded Kory.

"Of course," Kory smiled. "I could never forget that."

They walked all the way to Richard's birthday party. They went into the tent and found the place to be very crowded. The girls put their gifts on a special table and joined in the party. There was food, drink, music, and much more. The tent was a huge area with not too much fancy stuff. The party theme didn't look crazy. It looked calm, but still exciting.

"Hey, Rachel!" Gar appeared from the crowd and waved to her.

Rachel smiled and waved back. "How are you?" she asked plainly.

"I'm good," he said. "So, where's the birthday boy? Haven't seen him since the crowd is so big."

"I don't know, but I'm sure Kory must be looking for him right now," Rachel smirked.

"Ooh… I see," Gar smirked as well. "Richard _and_ Kory…"

Rachel laughed softly. She chatted with Gar throughout the party. Meanwhile, Tara was looking at both of them from the crowds. Tara stood still sadly. She liked him a lot, but he didn't return the feeling. Rachel, deep inside, was still her friend. They might be happy together, and she shouldn't be ruining it. So Tara smiled for both of them, knowing Gar's choice would be the best for himself. She stepped back and blended with the crowd.

Kory walked over to the middle of the tent and saw that Richard was there. "Richard!" she called out.

Richard spun around and saw her face behind the crowds. "Kory!" he shouted. "Over here!"

Kory struggled through the crowd and finally passed them. She sighed in relief and walked towards him.

"Happy birthday," she said, smiling at him.

"Thanks." He smiled back.

"Wow, it's a _really_ big party you got here," she said.

"Yeah, didn't know it would be so crowded," he said and looked around.

"Well, you invited a _lot_ of people," she giggled.

He smiled in reply. He loved it when she giggled like that. She looked so innocent, cute, and…sweet.

"Richie-poo!! Happy birthday!!" Katie jumped out and screeched.

Richard and Kory jumped in shock. "Katie," Richard said flatly. "What do _you_ want?"

"Aw come on, Richard," she said. "I'm here to wish you a happy birthday!"

"And you did that already," he said and pushed her away. "So, goodbye."

"Hey, hold on!" she steered herself back to Richard.

"Katie, you wished him _enough_ happiness," Kory walked to her. "He'll be happier if you'll just enjoy _yourself_ at this party."

"Gee Kory, jealous much? It's not like you're his girlfriend," Katie teased. Kory tried to hide her expressions that might be able to tell the truth, that she _was_ jealous. "Come with me, Richard," Katie said and grabbed his arm. "I have a surprise for you."

"I had enough surprises for today." He tried to sound convincing and pulled his arm out from her grasp.

"Oh, but it's a _big_ surprise," she said and grabbed him again. "Please?"

Richard turned his head to Kory and made a 'what-am-I-supposed-to-do-with-her' face. Kory hesitantly shrugged.

Richard sighed, "As long as it doesn't take long." Katie smirked and led him away from Kory. He momentarily mouthed an 'I'll be back' to Kory before Katie dragged him away.

Kory sighed and leaned on the table. She got herself a glass of punch and tried to shake the thoughts of Katie and Richard away.

"All alone, cutie?" a voice suddenly called. Kory turned around to see none other than Xavier. He headed for the table where Kory was leaning on.

"Not anymore," she smiled weakly.

"I thought you were with Richard," he said and grabbed a glass of punch for himself.

"Yeah, he's got some other things to do," she answered.

"I see," he said and took a gulp of his punch. "So, are you enjoying yourself?"

"Of course," she smiled. "It's Richard's birthday party. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Xavier chuckled, "I didn't remember, you were _very_ close with him."

Kory blushed and tried to change the topic. "So, what are you doing here anyway?"

"I was walking around when I saw you here," he replied with a little smile. Kory refilled her glass with another portion of punch. She put it on the table and tried to think of any topic that would get her mind off of Katie and Richard.

"How was your day at school?" she asked suddenly.

"Normal," he shrugged. "How was yours?"

"Not much had happened recently, but earlier…lots of things happened," she replied.

"Really? Tell me all about it." Xavier suddenly became interested.

"It's a long story," Kory looked away. Xavier walked closer to her, "I have all the time in the world."

Kory smiled a little. She started telling her story from her first day at Jump City High until today. Meanwhile, Xavier wasn't really listening. He silently poured something to Kory's punch and pretended that he was listening.

"…And I think someone's chasing me. My sister would _never_ lock me alone in the basement," Kory said as her gaze fell to the floor.

Xavier refilled his own glass. "So…what did you say to her?"

"She rarely goes home," she said. "I wouldn't bother to call her on my cell phone."

"So you're all alone at home?" Xavier said.

She nodded sadly. "I'm just…frustrated," she said.

"Why?"

She took a deep breath and started, "Yesterday was my mom's death anniversary, and I couldn't help but remember all those bad memories. Katie hated me because she's all over Richard and I'm "getting in the way". He probably fell for her too after this birthday surprise she's giving to him. Tara and my friends are currently having a fight and I'm not sure which side to take. I promised I would stay on my friends' side but I've seen a good side of Tara and I was thinking about helping her, but my friends would be upset with me. Also, my cheerleading practices are…"

"Whoa, okay, I get it. You had a few bad days," Xavier stopped her babbling. "But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to clear your head."

Kory raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Xavier smirked and walked towards the DJ's place. He requested some music and the DJ changed the music from some jazzy melody to some hard-beating dance music.

Xavier danced wildly to the beat and shouted over the music, "Yeah, this is what I'm talking about!"

Kory didn't move, she just stood there listening to the loud music and disco lights…the appearance of which she could not remember.

Xavier grabbed Kory's arm and yanked her towards him, "Come on, Kory, and shake off all those frustrating thoughts!"

She looked around to find Richard, but he was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and slowly **started to dance** to the music. She danced as wildly as Xavier did and shook away her bad thoughts. After a few moments, they stopped to take a break.

"How does _that_ feel?" Xavier asked.

"That was…awesome," she admitted.

"Cool," Xavier said. "Where's Richard anyway?"

Kory's thoughts jumped back to him and Katie. What were they doing that took so long? 'No, Richard doesn't like her, he knows what to do,' she thought. '...does he?'

"Hey Kory," Xavier called out. Kory looked up as Xavier held up his glass full of punch. "Have a drink."

The thoughts about her mother kept on going in her head. She didn't want to think about it, but she did. She had to throw them away…somehow. She took her glass and gulped the drink. After a few moments, her face twitched. There was something in that drink that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Vodka," she whispered. Kory knew that taste. She tried it once by accident.

She saw Xavier drinking his punch, and then she realized what he did. He put the vodka in there. He made her drink alcohol when she was underage. But why? Why did he do that? She didn't care. What Xavier did could probably clear her head from bad thoughts. She drank the rest of her vodka-mixed punch and slammed her glass on the table.

"You," Kory said.

Xavier froze. She knew about the vodka. The plan was ruined. What to do?

Kory suddenly flashed a smile, "You helped me. Thank you."

Xavier's eyes widened, and then he smiled in return. She enjoyed the vodka somehow. 'It must've been helping her with her stress,' he thought. "Want some more?" he asked, magically pulling out a bottle from under the table.

Kory scooped her glass through the punch bowl, filling it with the drink. Then, she grabbed the bottle, pouring it to her glass. She drank it quickly, and slowly, got drunk. The music got louder and her dancing got wilder. "Now _this_ is what I call PARTY!" Kory shouted.

Xavier danced along with her. He twirled her around the floor. Kory paused to take another glass of vodka punch. She was soon completely under the vodka's influence.

Just then, Richard entered the tent. He looked around and was surprised to see the whole scene had changed since he left. "I got lured away by a blonde annoying girl just to see a stupid present and got back to see a crazy disco crowd," he muttered. "What happened?"

He walked around and pushed through the crowds. He was heading to the spot where he left Kory a few moments ago. Xavier spotted Richard behind the crowds and made a quick thought. He spun Kory around and kissed her. Kory's eyes widened in shock. But she couldn't think well due to the alcoholic intoxication. She slowly closed her eyes…and kissed him back.

Richard successfully passed the crowd to see the horrible scene – Xavier kissed Kory…and Kory kissed him back. His arms were encircling her waist and her arms were around his neck. Then, Xavier's hands started to move from her waist to other parts of her body. Kory didn't react, but Xavier kept on touching her. Richard breathed heavily and felt his eyes started to water. He froze for a few moments before quickly stomping out of the tent.

-X-X-X-

Ooh… jealousy…  
yeah, review please!  
And **please please please** stay with me, keep reading and waiting for next chapters, don't leave me only b/c I can't update earlier!! Please!! I promise I'm going to finish this one, no matter how much time it would take…  
And GOD BLESS, I could update _this _chapter faster...  
Rynna


	17. What Happened Last Night?

Xavier pulled away after a few moments and smirked. But Kory didn't show any expression. Her mind was blank, still processing on what just happened. She had kissed him, but where did that come from?

Suddenly she was yanked away from him by a pair of hands. She looked back and saw Rachel with Jenny there. Karen appeared behind them and stepped forward to face Xavier. She didn't think twice when she suddenly slapped him hard. Xavier held his hand to his red cheek with a surprised expression, but not saying anything.

"That was for messing with my _friend_!" Karen yelled and pointed to his chest. "You don't deserve her!" Karen walked back to Rachel and Jenny.

"Let's get out of here," she said. "This party is a mess." Rachel and Jenny nodded while carrying a dizzy Kory out from the tent.

"Kory, are you okay?" Jenny asked.

Kory didn't answer. She laughed to herself and hummed a melody.

"What's wrong with her?" Karen looked at Kory.

"She's drunk," Rachel stated after examining Kory's behavior and alcoholic breath.

"But Richard's party is alcohol free," Jenny said.

"Then it wasn't from this party," Rachel said.

"It was from Xavier," Karen continued. She growled angrily and got back in the tent. She looked at the previous place where Xavier and Kory was, but Xavier wasn't there. There was only a table with a big bowl of punch, two glasses half-full of drink, and…a bottle of vodka?

Karen raised an eyebrow and took the bottle. Her eyes narrowed as she brought it outside.

"So what did you find?" Rachel asked.

"This," Karen held out the vodka bottle she found. Jenny took it and observed it carefully. "You're right, Karen. I'm pretty sure Richard doesn't drink," she said.

"But why did Xavier even want her to be drunk?" Karen questioned curiously.

"Who knows?" Jenny shrugged.

"Right now we better get Kory home," Karen pointed to a still-laughing Kory.

"I'll take her home," Rachel said. The others nodded as Rachel helped Kory get to her car.

--

Richard slammed the door and threw himself to his bed, facing the ceiling. He was crying, tears flowed down from his blue eyes. People think boys shouldn't cry because that's _weak_. Truthfully, it was completely unlike him to cry. He was usually strong and persistent. But maybe he _was_ weak. She was his weakness. Xavier kissed her, and…she kissed him back. The scene repeated all over his head. But he didn't understand, why was he crying? Why did it matter to him so much? She was his best friend, she was free to kiss or date anyone she wants. He didn't realize it before, but now he did.

He loved her.

He loved her more than anyone else. And that was why it hurt so much to see her kissing someone else. "She didn't love me back" was the only reason she would do that…

But was it?

The door opened and Bruce walked in the room. Richard sat up and quickly wiped his tears. "You know," Richard said. "There's this thing called _knocking_."

"Sorry," Bruce chuckled a little and put down a pile of gifts. "What happened? The party isn't finished yet."

"It's…something personal. You don't need to know," Richard looked away.

"Maybe I can help…" Bruce offered.

"No, you can't," Richard said. "Just…leave me alone."

Bruce sighed. "Okay, if you need anything, I'll be downstairs." With that, he left Richard in the room alone.

Richard closed his eyes and tried to think of something else, but he couldn't. It was too painful to forget. He opened his eyes and glanced at a few piles of presents that Bruce brought to his room. He reached out and tried to find the gift from Kory. And there it was, a small red box tied with a green bow, making it looked like a Christmas present. Richard untied the box and lifted its cap. It was a small book with a key locking it. A note was pasted on it.

'Happy Birthday, Richard! A diary looks girly, I know, but it's really useful sometimes. You can always spill your feelings there. Love, Kory,' he read mentally.

He put up a sad smile and put the diary back to its box. 'I just wish…' he thought. 'She loved me back.'

--

"Way to go, Xavier," Katie smiled.

"Yeah, but it's not easy to make her stress out, you know," Xavier rolled his eyes.

"Well, at least now that Richard saw her with you, he will surely avoid her," Katie smirked.

"And now the cutie will be mine."

--

Rachel got down from her car while leading Kory to her house. Kory wasn't fully conscious yet and the door was locked. Rachel knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

'Maybe Koma's not home,' she thought. Rachel cautiously opened Kory's purse and tried to find a duplicate key. After a few moments, she got Kory inside the house.

"Alright Kory, you need some rest," Rachel said. "Get to your room and get some sleep."

"I don't wanna go sleep," she replied in a drunken voice, "I wanna have FUN!!"

"Kory, you're drunk, get some sleep," Rachel said and pushed her into her room, making her sit on her bed.  
"No, I…don't…" Kory started, but then she suddenly fell asleep.

Rachel smiled in satisfaction and covered Kory with a blanket. She switched off the lights and closed the door.

--

Xavier got out from his hiding place and got ready to run away from the party area, but he bumped to someone he never wanted to meet again.

"Hello, Xavier," Richard growled.

"Richard," Xavier pretended to smirk, when the fact is he was too afraid to do so. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, in fact, you can," Richard said as Xavier walked off to the streets. "Help me by explaining the meaning of…kissing Kory."

"Like I said to you before, it's like a competition," Xavier shrugged and kept walking with Richard following him. "And it looks like I scored."

"I'm not in any competition like _this_," Richard said, grabbing his arm and putting Xavier on halt. "I'm not treating her like…"

"A trophy?" Xavier chuckled as Richard stopped walking as well. "Whatever, man. I don't care about what _you_ think. I kissed her, she kissed me, and she's _mine_."

Richard couldn't say anything. Xavier kissed Kory. Kory kissed him back. He couldn't help but think that they like each other…that his love was rejected. Maybe Xavier was right, the poor boy had lost his chance.

"Face it," Xavier teased. "Life isn't wonderful."

Richard got ready to talk back when suddenly a loud horn was heard from their left. A truck was speeding up and heading their way. They had completely forgotten that they were in the middle of a street.

Richard's eyes widened and he got ready to escape from the street, but he saw that Xavier was just standing there, too shocked and afraid to move.

"Look out!!" Richard yelled and yanked Xavier with him to the edge of the street until they fell. The truck passed by. Both of them were safe.

Richard and Xavier stood up and cleaned themselves from the dirt they just fell on.

Xavier looked at Richard. Did he just…save him? Wasn't he supposed to kill Xavier off after what he did to Kory?

"Big mistake," Xavier mumbled to Richard.

Richard looked away. He finished cleaning off and walked home with his hands inside his pockets, leaving Xavier standing in shock.

--

The alarm clock beeped from the table. Kory lazily reached for the alarm clock, and smashed it to the wall. She groaned and woke up from her bed, heading to the bathroom and got ready for school. But something didn't feel right. There were vague memories about what happened last night. Kory tried to remember, but she couldn't, so she shrugged the memories off and went to school.

After successfully arriving at school, Kory was immediately greeted by her friends. What were the blur memories haunting her head? She still didn't know.

"Kory!" Karen shouted. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Um, a little dizzy, but…I'm fine," Kory tried to smile.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" Jenny asked.

"Really, I'm fine," Kory reassured them.

"Do you…remember about anything happening at yesterday's party?" Rachel hesitantly asked.

Kory knew there was something wrong. There was something that had happened last night, but she couldn't remember it. Only a few blurry visions, and other than that, she was totally blank.

"I…" Kory started. "I remember something…"

"What? What is it?" Jenny asked.

"It wasn't really clear, though," Kory looked down. "I'm not really sure."

Everyone fell silent. Should they tell her or should they hide it from her?

"Guys," Kory said after sensing something suspicious. "Tell me what happened."

Rachel started, "You…um…you were with…Xavier, and…"

"You and Xavier kissed," Karen finished quickly.

Kory's eyes widened, her mouth opened as wide as you could imagine. "W-what?" she stuttered.

"You were somehow drunk," Jenny explained. "You didn't do it on purpose."

"Yeah, but…" Kory tried to speak, but she was speechless.

"It wasn't your fault. Someone made you drunk, and we all suspect that Xavier was the person," Rachel tried to calm her down.

"I DON'T CARE WHY I KISSED HIM!! I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT!!" Kory yelled aloud.

"Calm down, girl," Karen said.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal," Jenny shrugged. "It's just a kiss."

"It's not JUST A KISS," Kory said worriedly. "It's a kiss with someone I didn't even love."

She sighed. How could it happen? How could she get drunk? And most importantly…_who_ saw her?

"Did…uh…" Kory started. "Did anyone see us?"

"Well," Jenny said hesitantly. "You both kissed in middle of the tent, so…"

"Was _Richard_ there, too?" Kory asked.

Nobody answered this time.

"I said," Kory repeated. "Was. Richard. There?"

Karen looked at her carefully, "…yes."

Kory bit her lip and tears started to wet her eyes. He saw them. He saw them KISSING!!

"Look, Kory," Rachel said. "I'm sure he'll understand if you were a little drunk at that time," she put a hand on her shoulder.

"What if he won't believe me? What if I can't be with him anymore? I don't even remember **what happened last night**!" she said in a frustrated voice.

"Are you sure you _really_ didn't remember?" Jenny said.

Kory tried to think. She tried to remember. Suddenly…

"_Richie-poo!! Happy birthday!!" Katie jumped out and screeched.  
Richard sighed, "As long as it doesn't take long."  
"All alone, cutie?" a voice suddenly called.  
"But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to clear your head."  
Xavier grabbed Kory's arm and yanked her towards him, "Come on, Kory, and shake off all those frustrating thoughts!"  
"Vodka," she whispered.  
Xavier danced along with her. He twirled her around the dance floor as they both dance.  
… spun her around and kissed her.  
She slowly closed her eyes…and kissed him back._

"…Kory?" Jenny waved her hand in front of her face.

Kory didn't speak. She froze there and started sobbing.

"She…remembered," Karen mumbled.

Kory closed her eyes and fell to Rachel's arms, which were in front of her at that time.

"It's okay, Kory," Rachel hugged her lightly.

"He…won't…love me back…" she said between sobs.

"But he liked you! Have you ever realized how he stared at you and suddenly became speechless when you were around?" Karen tried to cheer her up.

"Not anymore," Kory whispered. The bell rang, ruining their thoughts about Richard. Kory quickly stood up and wiped her tears. "We gotta go," she said shakily and went to her first class.

"I hope she's okay," Jenny said.

-X-X-X-

Yes, I UPDATED!! Thanks to all who waited patiently and sorry it took so long :(  
Please review! And tell me if you're happy with the fact that Karen slapped Xavier XD  
btw, 6th Feb is my bday!! yay!! presents!!  
lol, jk...  
please review, guys!! And I need people to vote at MY PROFILE, so please go there and VOTE, PEOPLE!! If you're anonymous (like Yannababy, love you!! XD) then you can put it in your review :)  
Thanks to all, again!


	18. Secrets Revealed

Kory sat down with Rachel behind her. Gar sat beside Rachel and stared at the two girls.

Rachel looked at Gar and smiled weakly. Gar returned the smile and whispered, "What's with Kory?" Rachel mouthed the words "last night" as a reply. Gar nodded in understanding and sat quietly. They didn't chat throughout the lesson. Everything was so quiet.

Later, at lunchtime, Kory went to the gym with her cheerleading uniform to meet Tara. She was practicing new moves with the other girls, and stopped when Kory tapped her finger on her shoulder.

"Kory," Tara greeted and was about to complain about her being late. But then she saw her sad face and resisted. "Um…are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm…" Kory looked down. "Fine…"

"Are you sure? You don't look so good," Tara said in concern. "Was it about last night?"

Kory's eyes shot up. "How did you know?"

"One, you kissed _in front of everyone_. Two, I don't think you're the type that wants to be with Xavier, so I'm guessing you felt bad about…last night," Tara said.

"I don't even know why I did that," Kory muttered.

"You're in no condition to practice," Tara put a hand on her shoulder. "You should rest."

"But what about the show?" Kory asked.

"You did well enough cheerleading, I'm sure skipping practices for this week won't make any difference," Tara smiled.

"Thank you, Tara," she smiled back and walked out from the gym. She pushed open the gym's door and came to realize that it was a lot lighter than usual. Behind the door, there stood a figure that was pulling the door. 'That's why it's a lot lighter,' she thought. The door opened completely to show who the figure was.

Richard.

He came with his sports uniform and holding a basketball, frozen and staring at Kory. They both looked at each other silently. Richard snapped out from his thoughts.

"Excuse me," he said.

Kory looked down and moved over, allowing Richard to enter the gym. She sighed and made her way to the cafeteria. Richard looked back after a few moments, and all he saw was her sad figure walking out from the room.

--

"Kory!" Jenny called out from a table. Kory turned her head and looked at the girls sitting at a table with Vic, Gar, and Wally. She smiled weakly and made her way there.

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing?" Karen asked.

"I'm skipping practices for this week," Kory replied. "What about you?"

"We decided to take a break for a few days, too," Rachel replied. Kory nodded and looked down.

"Don't think about last night," Wally said, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, it was an accident," Vic added.

"You told them, didn't you?" Kory said to Karen and the others.

"Well, I don't want them to think that you actually _liked_ Xavier," Karen chuckled.

"Richard saw me. What am I going to say to him?" Kory asked herself.

Silence flooded them once again. "I'll get you some lunch, Kory," Rachel stood up and ordered a meal.

"Why don't you just tell him the truth? Tell him that you were drunk," Gar suggested.

"Why would he believe me?" Kory answered.

"Because he's _Richard_," Vic said. "He'll believe you. You have to at least try."

Kory smiled a little. Rachel set down Kory's lunch and sat back down. "Eat up," she commanded.

Kory nodded and ate her meal. They chatted as usual until the bell rang again.

"Let's go," Wally said to the others. "Hope you feel better, Kory!"

"Thanks," Kory said. She headed outside the cafeteria with Karen behind her, walking to the class that Kory feared the most since last night.

Spanish class.

--

Kory sat down with Karen beside her and Vic behind her. The class had almost started, Richard hadn't yet come in, and there was only one seat left – which was on Kory's right. Finally, the black-haired boy came in to class, panting. It looked like he ran all the way there. His eyes scanned the whole room and caught the sight of an empty seat. But his face twisted when he saw Kory was beside the seat. There was no other empty seat, so he hesitantly walked there and sat down.

Richard and Kory both glanced in different directions. Karen and Vic were looking at both of them, thinking of what they should do.

Karen pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote on it. She made sure Richard didn't notice, and she passed the note to Kory. Kory looked down and read it. 'Tell him now!' she read mentally. Kory wrote back and passed it to Karen. It said, "Not now!" Karen sighed and crumbled the paper, shoving it into her pencil case. Kory looked at Richard who was looking away, and when Kory looked away, Richard looked back at her. It happened again and again throughout the whole Spanish class. Vic got tired looking at the two of them. He was planning to do something when the bell rang, signaling the end of Spanish class.

Richard quickly packed and ran out of the Spanish class. Kory watched as he exited the room and sighed.

"Girl, why didn't you tell him?! You had the chance!" Karen complained.

"Yeah, I was getting tired looking at both of you. You looked at him and he turned away, he looked at you and you turned away. That's just boring," Vic added.

"I'm not ready, okay? I don't know how to tell him so he would trust me," Kory answered.

"Why don't you go like, "Hey Richard, sorry I kissed Xavier last night, I was drunk," and he'll be like, "Oh, that's okay, I understand," and you two can get together without any other problems!" Karen explained.

Kory sighed again. Would he really say that?

"Come on, time for our next class," Vic warned them. "See you later."

"Bye Vic," Karen waved him goodbye. "Let's go, Kory."

Kory nodded and followed Karen out of the room.

--

"So how's Kory?" Gar asked to Rachel in science class.

"She's still not feeling good. She really should tell Richard that she was drunk, but…I'm afraid she's right. Richard might not trust her," Rachel looked down.

"What? Why?" Gar questioned.

"She was drunk because of the vodka Xavier gave her. But last night's party was free-alcohol," Rachel explained.

"I never knew Xavier could be that bad," Gar muttered.

They were chatting when suddenly a blonde haired girl came to their desk. "Hey Gar. Hey Rachel," Tara said in a friendly tone.

"Um…hi," Rachel replied monotonously.

"Whatcha doing?" Tara asked and sat next to Gar, which made Rachel a little jealous. Alright, it made her _really_ jealous.

"We were just talking about Kory," Gar answered.

"Oh, it's about that party, huh?" Tara said.

Gar nodded and Rachel spoke up, "You gave her a week to rest from cheerleading practice. That's very nice of you." Wait. Where did that came from?

"Thank you," Tara said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Gar sat there quietly, too stunned to talk. 'Rachel and Tara are being nice to each other today. Looks like they made up already,' Gar thought.

But that was all that they said. They didn't talk to each other the whole science class. When the bell rang, Rachel quickly got up and exited the science lab.

"So…are you okay with Rachel now?" Gar asked Tara.

"I'm…not sure," Tara answered. "I didn't say sorry, she didn't say sorry…I guess…it just happened like that."

"I understand," Gar nodded. Tara smiled. "Come on, let's get to the next class."

--

School was finally over. Kory hadn't talked to Richard at all, and Xavier was nowhere to be seen.

"So did you tell Richard?" Jenny asked.

"No," Kory sighed.

"You should have when you had the chance," Rachel advised. "Xavier needs some lessons from Richard."

"Wait. Where _is_ Xavier? I haven't seen him all day," Kory looked around.

"You actually _want_ to meet him?" Karen questioned.

"No, I was expecting him to say sorry or something, but…I guess he ran away," Kory slightly shrugged.

Just then, Wally and Victor came there to pick Jenny and Karen up. "Hey girls," Wally greeted.

"Hi," they all replied.

"How are you, Kory?" Victor asked.

"Still the same," Kory sighed again. "I was thinking of meeting Xavier today. Who knows, maybe he wanted to talk to me and say sorry. But he's nowhere to be found."

"I thought I saw him today at the principal's office," Wally recalled.

"You did?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, and I sort of overheard what they were talking about," Wally added.

"What was it?" Karen questioned curiously.

"It's something about his class schedules. If I'm not mistaken, he wanted his classes to be re-scheduled."

"Really? Why would he do that?" Jenny asked.

"I'm not sure, but the principal somehow agreed. If I remember correctly…one of them is math class. His math class is re-scheduled," Wally explained.

"That's his class with me! And Richard!" Kory exclaimed.

"Why would he re-schedule it?" Vic asked.

"Maybe he's too afraid to face Kory," Jenny chuckled slightly.

"Or Richard," Rachel added.

"What a coward," Wally muttered.

Kory looked down. "Well…if he wanted to get away from me, I'm not refusing," she whispered.

They all stood in silence. "Um…we, uh…we better get going," Wally put a hand on Jenny's shoulder.

"Yeah, all of us. See you tomorrow," Vic said and walked out from the building with Karen, followed by Jenny and Wally.

"He's right, Kory. We need to get home," Rachel said. Kory nodded and walked out as well.

None of them realized that Richard was watching from somewhere around the corner, hearing every single word that they all said. Xavier kissed her, and it was something that Kory didn't want. And what was Kory supposed to tell him? His conscience told him that Xavier was playing a trick, but he shrugged the feeling off. 'Something isn't right,' Richard thought as he walked outside the school.

--

"Um…Gar…" Tara started.

"Yeah?"

"I'm…sorry about what happened on…our last date," she finally said.

"It's alright," Gar smiled a little. "Don't mind about that."

"So…I'm guessing you're with Rachel now…?" Tara half stated and half asked.

Gar looked down and didn't answer for a while. But then he replied, "No, actually…"

"Oh," Tara looked down as well.

"So, how's your cheerleading practice going?" Gar changed the subject.

"It's awesome," Tara smiled. "But as you heard from Rachel, I put Kory on a little break."

"That's the right decision."

"What about your preparation for the talent show?" Tara asked back.

"It's going okay," Gar said. "Contestants are all ready, and things are going well."

"That's great," Tara responded. She glanced at her watch, and suddenly stood up. "I gotta go home now, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you," Gar waved as she left.

"She's so pretty," Gar mumbled. His eyes widened in realization of what he had said. 'Wasn't that supposed to be for Rachel? Or…was it for Tara? Ugh, it's giving me a headache!' he thought and finally stood up. He grabbed his bag and quickly left the building.

--

"Richard, wait up!" Vic yelled and caught up with the boy.

Richard turned around to see Victor and Wally running after him. "Hey," Richard greeted monotonously.

"We have to tell you something. It was about your party last night," Wally spoke between pants.

"That party is over," Richard kept on walking.

"You saw her, right? With Xavier," Vic stopped Richard by grabbing his arm.

"Everyone saw_ that_," Richard replied bitterly. "You don't need to remind me."

"We all know you have feelings for her," Wally stated. "_Admit it_."

Richard looked away and thought for a while. 'How the hell did they know that?'

"It was kinda obvious," Vic added, as if reading Richard's mind.

Richard sighed. "Fine, I like her. She likes Xavier. I should get out of the way. The end," he spoke quickly.

"No, it's not the end," Vic convinced him. "And that's _not_ what we were going to tell you."

"Then what is it?" Richard asked in an annoyed tone.

"Kory. She didn't actually _like_ Xavier. She didn't kiss him in her right mind," Wally explained.

"I _saw_ her kissing him _back_. Are you trying to tell me I'm blind?" Richard accused in a higher tone.

"No man, chill out," Vic tried to calm him down. "She was drunk, that's why she kissed him."

"I don't serve alcohol at my parties. I'm an anti-drinker," Richard defended himself.

"It wasn't from your party. It was from Redd," Wally added.

"Karen found this at the location," Vic pulled out an almost empty vodka bottle from his bag. "I believe this _isn't_ yours."

"Are you trying to convince me to get together with her? Well it's not working," Richard started walking away.

"Man, what do we have to do to make you believe?" Vic groaned.

"Didn't you notice that Kory has been acting really sad around you?" Wally pointed. "If she really _did_ want to kiss and get together with Redd, she'll be smiling around you and holding hands with him!"

Richard stopped. He remembered that conversation he heard.

"_So did you tell Richard?" Jenny asked.  
"No," Kory sighed._

'Was that what she was supposed to tell me? That she was…drunk?' he thought.

"No," Richard kept on walking. "Just…leave me alone."

'Illusions and lies…Right now, I just don't know what's real and what's not,' he thought.

--

Kory walked towards her car to go home. Koma never used the car anymore, she somehow got a ride of her own. She was about to open her car's door when someone called her.

"Hello, Korianna," a high-pitched voice said. Kory turned around and gasped. "Katie," she growled.

"We live nearby but we barely talk, isn't that sad?" Katie pouted.

"What do you want?" Kory asked through her gritted teeth.

"Just telling you to get away from Richard," she smirked.

"Who are _you_ to tell me what to do?" Kory growled.

"You're with Xavier now, aren't you?" Katie asked in an annoying tone.

"I'm what?!" Kory turned around again and asked furiously.

"You kissed at that party last night. You aren't supposed to be with Richard anymore," Katie explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kory was about to talk back when realization suddenly hit her _hard_. Kory gasped, "YOU WERE BEHIND ALL THIS!"

"Behind what?" Katie asked innocently.

"You're the one who messed up my car, locked me in the basement, and ruined my relationship with Richard by telling Xavier TO GET ME DRUNK!" Kory finally yelled. Unfortunately, Richard wasn't there.

"Oh, you figured it out," Katie smiled. "That was so smart of you."

"Why are you doing all of this?! What's in it for you?!" Kory yelled.

"What do you think? To get Richard, duh," Katie rolled her eyes. "Why else would I spend all that time and money after that plan?"

"Why didn't you just tell him you liked him?!" she yelled again.

"I had to force him to like me," Katie smirked. "Plus, I like seeing you suffering. Brings me some joy."

"Whatever," Kory huffed. "Go get Richard, do what you want. But _never_ mess with Korianna Anders!"

"I'm glad we have an understanding," Katie "smiled".

"Look, Katie," Kory started. "Whatever you wanna do with Richard, go for it. I don't wanna be dragged along in your sick plan."

"Stay away from him, and I'll stay away from _you_," Katie pointed to her. "Got it?"

"No, _you_ stay away from both of them!" a female voice shouted from a few meters behind them. Both girls turned around and saw Barbara there, walking towards them.

"…Babs?" Kory whispered.

"Barbara Gordon, what a surprise," Katie shook her head. "Standing up for a girl that's going to chase your ex?"

"She deserves him more than you," Babs pointed her finger to Katie.

"Oh really? And what are you going to do if I'm not stopping?" Katie crossed her arms and smirked.

Babs smirked back and pulled out her cell phone, "I'm gonna call my dad to stop business between our companies, leaving the drastic _fall_ of your daily allowance as the result."

Katie gasped and let her arms fell to her sides, "You _wouldn't_."

Babs flipped open her cell phone and pressed her special speed dial, "Try me."

Katie growled and finally yelled, "Fine! You got me this time, Gordon! But I'm _not_ failing next time." She huffed and walked away from Babs and Kory. Babs smiled and snapped her cell phone shut, putting it back into her purse.

"Thanks," Kory smiled.

"No problem," Babs replied. "Besides, we all should've known it was her."

"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?" Kory chuckled slightly. Babs chuckled as well, but then, things get serious.

"Why are you helping me?" Kory looked away and asked softly. "I…thought you still liked him."

"To be honest, you're right," Babs smiled sadly. "But if he's happy, then I'll be too."

"Is that really why you came here? To help me, and that's all?" Kory turned her gaze to Barbara.

"Yeah," Babs replied. "But there's something I wanna show you." Barbara shoved her hand unto her purse, and after a few moments, she pulled out a very familiar small book, with a key locking it.

Kory's eyes widened, "That's _my_ gift for Richard."

"I know," Babs laughed. "There's something important written in it. You really should read it."

"But it's a _diary_, it contains personal thoughts! I don't think…"

"Really, it's okay, just…open it," Babs interrupted in a convincing tone.

Hesitantly, Kory flipped the book open…

--

"_I know I really shouldn't be writing a diary, it's a girl's stuff. But then again, this might help me…"_

"_The girl was Kory. She's actually really nice, and pretty too. Maybe I shouldn't write this, but I can't help it. I really like her, she's one of my best friends, and she's always there for me when…Oh who am I kidding, I love her! I love her more than anything else in this world…"_

"_It was my birthday. I was looking forward for a perfect day, where I'm having a happy birthday. But it didn't happen. I became a witness of one of the worst things that happened in my life."_

"_I made this wish on my birthday…hoping that she would love me back…but it wasn't my lucky day. I saw them…Xavier and Kory…they were kissing and…I turned back, like a coward."_

"_It wasn't my lucky day after all. I loved her, but she didn't love me back."_

"He…he actually _loves_ me?" Kory stuttered.

Babs slowly nodded. "It was all a misunderstanding. You were drunk, weren't you?" Barbara confirmed.

"I never knew Katie could be so determined," Kory replied.

"So it was all a misunderstanding. He thought you didn't like him because you kissed Xavier that day. And…"

"I thought he wouldn't like me anymore after seeing that scene…while the fact is he loved me the whole time…!" Kory interrupted, showing a little hint of excitement in her tone.

Babs smiled, "Yeah. You better go and tell him tomorrow."

Kory smiled back. "You're a really amazing girl, Babs," Kory shook her head slowly. "There aren't many girls who would fight for their friend to get the boy that they actually like."

"You love him, he loves you, what could be more perfect?" Babs shrugged.

"Having a great friend," Kory hugged Babs lightly. "Thanks for everything."

"Not a problem," Babs returned her hug. "You can always call me if Katie messes with you again."

Kory chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. Can I…maybe…keep the diary for a while?"

"Sure," Babs answered. "He wouldn't go looking for it if he was too busy preparing something."

"Prepare…something?" Kory asked in confusion.

"The talent show. The sports competition," Babs reminded her. Kory's face was still blank. "Kory it's in _two weeks_!"

Kory gasped, "And Tara gave me a one week break…leaving me to prepare it in only _one week_?!"

"Chill, girl," Babs put a hand on her shoulder. "You did well as a cheerleader. I'm sure you can do it."

"Thanks, Babs." Kory smiled. "Thank you for _everything_."

--

--

Hi, y'all! Thanks for still reading OSL!! Sorry for not updating for long, my laptop got fixed…and I think it's still gonna be fixed for a few weeks or so, and for a repay, I wrote a chapter with about 3,000 words long…anyways…  
review, people!! Keep r and r – ing!! I LOVE you all!!  
hope you're all ok with the fact that _babs_ is one of the good guys… besides, she's BATGIRL, for crying out loud! She _has_ to be one of the good guys XD  
Rynna


	19. Behind the Truth

"You _read_ his diary?!" Jenny yelled through the phone.

"I know it's kinda wrong, but…that's how I got the right answer," Kory replied.

"That's just awesome! Now you two can get together!" Karen screamed, also from the phone.

"Not so fast." Kory stopped their excitement. "I'm still worried about Katie and Xavier."

"They wouldn't dare do anything to you two," Rachel answered monotonously. "You two just go and have fun…if that's all you wanna talk about, I'll just close this phone conference…"

"No, wait!" Kory interrupted. "I told you my story, now you guys tell me yours."

"What do you mean?" Jenny cocked an eyebrow, thought Kory couldn't see it.

"As much as I know that I'm not supposed to be pushing, I'm still really curious," Kory started. "What happened between you and Tara?"

Everyone suddenly became silent.

"Girls…" Kory pleaded.

"Alright, alright, we'll tell you," Rachel replied in defeat.

"Back then, it was summer break. The four of us were having a holiday together, going cross-country," Karen started.

"We were riding Tara's helicopter. We went through a jungle trip, sightseeing from air. To be exact, we were flying above the Amazon River," Jenny continued.

"And all of the sudden the helicopter broke down. We were all ready to jump with parachutes, but apparently we didn't prepare for the trip very well. There were only two parachutes in that helicopter," Rachel went on.

"Our first idea was to have the parachutes for the two of us, and they would have to carry the rest of the group. But before we went with that plan, the helicopter crashed to the side of a cliff while still flying forward," Jenny added.

"Jenny, Rachel, and I almost fell off without parachutes. We were hanging on the helicopter's tail. We screamed for Tara and her personal helicopter pilot to put on their parachutes, jump off and catch us, taking us with them down with the parachutes," Karen said.

"But they betrayed us. They saved themselves, leaving us hanging on that helicopter, with no one knowing how to pilot it. We managed to get back in, and we tried to drive it. But it didn't help at all; it went down even faster."

"So we finally jumped off to the nearest cliff we found. We were safe, but Tara got away," Rachel finished the story off.

"Oh," Kory replied after the story. "I never knew the real meaning of "traitor" was until you told me that."

There was a faint sound coming from Rachel's place. "Rachel! Dinner's ready!" Arella shouted.

"I gotta go, guys," Rachel sighed.

"Me too," Jenny followed.

"Me three," Karen followed as well.

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Rachel greeted.

"Yeah, goodnight girls," Kory smiled and hung up the phone.

--

The next day was full of anticipation. Kory held her bag tighter than before, nervous about telling Richard the truth. She still had that "what if he won't believe me" thought, and it scared her more than ever.

"Come on, it's gonna be okay," Jenny patted her back.

"Yeah, I mean…he's Richard! He HAS to understand," Karen smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Kory," Rachel said in a comforting tone.

"Thanks a lot, girls," Kory smiled faintly.

The bell rang, and the classes started. First stop, social studies.

Karen and Kory entered the class and took their usual seats. They waited…and waited…but Richard never came in.

"Karen, I don't think he's coming," Kory said in a disappointed tone.

"Where is he?" Karen muttered.

"His classes are re-scheduled," Victor slipped in to the conversation.

"Re-scheduled? Why?" Kory asked immediately.

"I don't have any idea," Vic answered. "I tried to ask, and tried to stop him too, but it was no use."

Karen's eyebrows furrowed, "Why did he…"

"He's avoiding me," Kory cut in, looking at the floor. "Just like Xavier did."

"Well, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind," Karen stood up. "What class is he in now?"

"I'm not sure," Vic sighed. "But if I were you, I wouldn't want to mess with Richard."

"Well, nobody messes with my friend either."

"Karen, don't worry," Kory laid a hand on her shoulder. "You proved that to Xavier."

That statement made Karen chuckle a little as she sat back down. "Well, what are we going to do now?"

"We'll wait till he shows up," Kory sighed.

"What if he won't show up until the next century?" Victor joked.

"Then I'll have to bust in his house," Kory smiled.

"You go girl," Karen chuckled again.

The three of them laughed, but their laughter died after a certain someone enters the door.

"Xavier?" Kory mumbled.

"What is _he_ doing in social studies?" Vic questioned.

"His classes are re-scheduled too, remember?" Karen recalled. "He tried to avoid Kory, but instead, he bumped into her."

"That's a messed up plan," Vic answered.

"Well, I'm not letting him sitting _peacefully_ there. Not after what he did to _her_," Karen pointed to Kory.

"I don't think that he's totally guilty," Kory cut in.

Karen and Victor blinked. "Earth to Kory?! He's the _bad_ guy, he made you kiss him just to get paid by Katie!" Karen yelled.

"Katie?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

"All that bad stuff that happened to Kory? Yeah, it was Katie behind the scenes."

"Whew," Victor commented.

"Well that's my point," Kory emphasized. "Xavier was just…paid by her. But Katie is the real bad guy here."

"So that means you forgive him?" Victor asked.

"Only if he feels guilty," Kory answered.

"Which I doubt," Karen added.

"Look, if you really want prove, the best way to know if he's sorry is to talk to him," Vic pointed to Xavier. "He's just about 3 meters away, literally."

"Now's not the time," Kory shook her head. "Our priority is telling Richard the truth."

Vic looked at Xavier skeptically. "Y'know, there's something different about him…"

"What, he had a haircut?" Karen asked sarcastically.

"No, for real," Vic answered, his eyes still stuck at Xavier. "He got a different look on his face. Like…"

"Regret?" Kory offered.

"Probably," Victor nodded slowly. "It's just something different."

Karen huffed, "Why are you two suddenly getting soft on him?"

Kory sighed. "Forget about him. We have more important things to do here."

The other two nodded in understanding, and returned to their work.

--

The day went normally, except for Kory not seeing Richard at her classes, or lunchtime. Even so, she had faith in herself, that he will believe, and she'll find him no matter what. Hours passed, and neither Richard nor Katie was in Kory's sight. Finally, school ended. But to Kory's disappointment, she still couldn't see Richard.

"So did you meet him?" Rachel asked.

Kory shook her head, signaling a "no". The other three girls sighed, for the millionth time since lunchtime.

"That's it," Jenny said impatiently, grabbing Kory's wrist. "Let's go and look for him."

"I don't even know where he is right now," Kory stopped Jenny in mid-step. "Maybe tomorrow."

"If you keep delaying, there's going to be smaller chance that he believes you," Rachel pointed out.

"Rachel's right. We need to find him," Karen nodded.

"I'll go and do that," Kory stepped backwards. "Why don't you guys go home now? It's been a long day, and our homework is increasing."

They glanced at each other before Rachel spoke up, "You sure you can do this all by yourself?"

"I'll be okay," Kory smiled.

"Well, we'll be going then." Karen smiled back. "Good luck."

"Yeah, we'll all pray for you," Rachel smiled too.

Jenny was about to say something when she remembered her charm bracelet. She smiled and took it off, then put it around Kory's wrist. "You can borrow this, for good luck."

Kory was stunned at the shimmery and shining figure that held silver lucky objects around it. "Thank you," she said, holding her wrist.

They all nodded and said their goodbyes, before walking out the gate to the parking lot.

Kory bit her lip as she walked deeper inside the building, passing classes and down the hallways. After a few trips on the stairs and a few turns on the hallways, she made it. She saw his figure from the distance.

"Richard…!" she whispered to herself. She walked a little bit faster, but then halted when she saw another familiar figure with him. She hid behind a wall and peeked over to see who it was. She soon found out. It was…

"Katie," Kory silently growled. She tried to listen to what they were talking about, but she decided against it. "It would be no use, I'll just have to go there myself," she muttered. "And show Katie who she's dealing with."

She quickly walked out from her hiding place and showed herself so Richard and Katie could see her. "Richard," she called out softly.

His eyes widened and his lungs suddenly stopped working. He snapped back to reality and was about to turn around, but then, he made another decision.

"Go away," he answered with the same tone.

"Aren't you going to at least listen to me?" Kory questioned in a higher tone.

"Not a bit, Anders," Katie walked up to her view and put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't hope too much on him."

"What are _you_ doing here, Katie?" Kory narrowed her eyes.

"Just hanging around with my _new boyfriend_," Katie smirked and slipped her arm around Richard's.

Kory was about to choke. "Your _what_?"

"I never agreed to be your boyfriend, Katie," Richard said immediately as he withdrew his arm. His statement sent a wave of relief in Kory's head.

"You have no choice," Katie answered. "Kory got Xavier, and you have _me_."

Kory tried to fight Katie's words, but nothing came out. That's what Richard had thought all this time. He thought that she was Xavier's.

"You're not the only girl I can date," Richard looked away. "There are millions of girls in this Earth, and even if they all disappear leaving you as the only girl in the universe, I _won't_ date you."

Kory tried as hard as she could to hold her chuckle. "Fine, be that way," Katie scowled before she turned to face Kory. "Well, now that you know what _I'm_ doing here, what are _you_ doing here? Don't try to cheat on Xavier or I'll tell him," Katie mocked.

Her words sent Richard walking away as fast as he could. Kory fought against her will to not talk back to Katie and went after Richard.

Richard was walking fast. Kory ran right behind him. "Richard," she called out.

He ignored her. He kept on going until Kory finally yelled. "Richard, stop!!" Kory yelled. Richard finally stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"Please, listen to me…"

"Didn't I tell you to _go away_?" his voice cracked.

"Just listen, please…" She stepped closer until she was just a few inches behind him. "That night," she started. "I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing. And I know you don't have vodka at your parties, but Xavier brought a bottle of it and mixed it with my drink. And then all of the sudden he…he just kissed me…and after my friends told me what they saw, I realized I kissed him back…"

Richard didn't react at all.

"But I swear I didn't mean it." Her voice became softer. "At first, I wasn't so sure why I had to tell you that I didn't want to kiss Xavier, but then I realized the truth…"

Her last words made Richard glanced to his shoulder, as he slowly turned around.

"I…" she stuttered. "I love you."

Richard tried not to hug and hold her in his arms then and there, "No you don't."

Tears started to drip from her emerald eyes. "Yes I do, Richard!" she yelled. "And I knew you would trust me because…" she stopped and pulled out his diary from her bag.

His eyes widened slightly at the sight of his diary. "Where did you…"

"Babs gave it to me, but don't blame her," Kory said quickly. "Please, trust me."

"It's all a lie, Kory," Richard looked away to hide his wet eyes. "I can't trust anything or anyone anymore."

That's when the tears started to gush out from her eyes. She weakly pounded her fist to Richard's chest. "Why?!" she yelled. "Why can't you see that I'm telling the truth?!"

A teardrop started to fall from his eyes. And another drop, and another. "Kory…"

"Why won't you just _admit it_?!" she yelled again and kept on hitting Richard with her fist. He grabbed both her wrists and she stopped moving. Both of them sobbed. He slipped his arms to encircle them around her body, pulling her into a warm, loving hug. They softly cried into each other's shoulders.

"I wouldn't admit it," he started. "Because I was afraid of rejection. I was afraid of your perfection, and afraid of my own weakness."

Her sobs slowly died as she listened to him, their bodies still close to each other. "I was afraid of us being not a good couple," he continued. "Afraid at people mocking at me. I was afraid of many things."

He softly pushed her away to arm's length. "But now that you know, I'll say it. Here and now, and I don't care what would happen, I don't care what people would say," he whispered. "I love you, Kory, more than life itself."

Both of them weakly smiled and pulled again into another hug. After a few minutes, they pulled away.

"I'll have to go and thank Babs later," Kory joked.

"I can't believe she did that for you," Richard smiled. "She's a great friend."

"That's what I said," Kory giggled as Richard put his arm around Kory's waist. They both walked down the way they came, and met Katie in the middle of the hallway. She saw Richard's arm encircling Kory's waist, and gasped.

"YOU'RE TOGETHER?!" she asked furiously.

"You can say so," Richard shrugged as he smiled to Kory.

"I can't believe it! All my plans and hard work _fails_!" Katie screeched.

Kory put up a blank expression, while Richard was confused. "What plan?"

"That plan where I was supposed to help you and Katie get together," a male's voice replied. They all turned around, and suddenly found Xavier that popped out of nowhere.

"Xavier," Kory muttered.

"You've done enough, Xavier," Richard stepped forward. "You don't need to explain _anything_."

"I do, actually," Xavier insisted. "Katie paid me so you would date _her_."

Katie took nervous glances from Xavier, to Richard, and back to Xavier. "I did what?! You wanted Kory to be your _girlfriend_!"

"Yeah, but after Richie saved me that night," he pointed at Richard. "I thought I'd pay him a favor."

"Save you? From what, a literature test?" Katie mocked again.

"From a speeding truck, actually," Xavier chuckled, and then turned to Richard. "We sorta worked a plan together. But it failed, so…yeah."

Richard's face stayed on serious mode, "Well, I appreciate that you admit what you did wrong, Xavier."

"Thanks for that," Xavier nodded. "But I don't guarantee that I'll stay as a good guy. We're even…for now."

"At least one of you has a brain to do something right," Kory smirked to Katie.

Katie made a face to Kory, and quickly turned to Xavier as he walked passing her. "What did you do, Redd?! Whose side are you on?!" she screamed.

"My side," he smirked and left the hallways. Katie growled and ran after Xavier, "XAVIER REDD!!"

The new couple watched as Katie raced towards Xavier and laughed to each other. Suddenly, Richard noticed Jenny's charm bracelet was around Kory's wrist. With a questioning look, Kory followed Richard's gaze.

"Is that Jenny's?" Richard chuckled and pointed to the bracelet.

"She wanted me to borrow it," Kory shrugged. "It was a good luck charm after all."

They smiled to each other as they walked out of the school.

-X-X-X-

YES!! Rich and Kory _finally_ got together!!  
as usual, review!!  
every review counts, so please spare some time for it :)  
BUT, the story doesn't end here. There's still more!!  
so don't stop reading, and stay tuned for updates!!  
-Rynna


	20. Who's with Who?

Rachel drove home, but she didn't concentrate at all. There were so many things going on in her mind. She couldn't take her mind off of Garfield, Tara, and Kory. Rather than driving with the risks of crashing into other vehicles or any living things, she stopped by her favorite café and decided to take a little break.

Rachel parked her car in an empty spot and entered the building. She took her usual seat and ordered a special menu. Taking a sip of her herbal tea, she looked around at the dark place. There were not many people there, the chairs and tables are simple, and the café had a small stage in the middle of the room, completed with a mike stand.

This is where she usually read her dark, depressing poems. But right now, she was too depressed to even think of a poem. She stood up to get a refill, but she accidentally bumped to another customer, causing his drink to fall from his hand.

Rachel gasped, "Sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going…"

The boy chuckled, "That's okay, accidents happen." He bent down to pick up his fallen cup, and stood back up.

Rachel looked up. He had a familiar face.

"Um…sorry," Rachel started. "You look…familiar…do I know you? Have we…um…met somewhere?"

He looked at her curiously, and suddenly smiled, "Ah, you're Rachel Roth! You go to my school!"

"E-excuse me?"

He chuckled again, "I'm Malchior, I'm one grade above you, remember?"

Her eyes brightened. "Oh yeah, you were in the school's talent show! You read one of the poems!"

They both laughed. Rachel hadn't felt this excited in a while. He had deep blue eyes, with silver hair and his physic is quite good. They went to an empty table and sat down.

"So how are your poems going?" Malchior asked.

"It's going like usual," Rachel replied…and blushed, "Since when do you hang out around this café? I've been here hundreds of times before and I didn't notice you."

"I found this place yesterday. It's a nice place," Malchior answered as he looked around the place. "It's my second favorite place after the library across the street."

Rachel tried not to widen her smile, "You _like_ going to the library?"

"Books are useful," Malchior shrugged. "I don't go there often, but I like the place. Peace and quiet enough to read."

'We have so many things in common,' she thought to herself.

"What else do you like to do?" he asked.

"Meditating," Rachel mentioned. "It helps me…"

"…keep your emotions in check," Malchior cut Rachel's sentence. "We have more things in common than I thought."

Rachel blushed even more. They often met but never talk to each other. Secretly, she admires him, and now, the admiring thing grows even more.

"Oh yeah, I also noticed that you've been friends with Logan," Malchior pointed out. "He's nice. But I gotta admit…he's sometimes annoying."

Rachel put up a blank expression, now that he mentioned Gar. "Why is he annoying?"

"Talkative, never serious, and a prankster. What's _not_ annoying about that?" Malchior replied.

True, Rachel and Gar were total opposites. Maybe that's why she couldn't ever have him…

"Now that you mention it," Rachel spoke up. "I have to agree with you." They both chuckled and chatted, until Rachel noticed that the sky was getting dark.

"Malchior," Rachel said as she stood up. "It's getting late. I have to go home, my mom must be waiting."

"Alright, then. Drive safe," Malchior smiled. "So, uh…see you tomorrow?"

Rachel blushed again, "Sure. See you."

With that, she left the café and drove home, smiling all the way there.

--

Gar walked in, guiding a blindfolded Tara with him. It was already dark, almost dinner time.

"Gar," she complained. "_Where_ are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough," he chuckled.

After a few minutes, they stopped. Gar untied her blindfold and Tara slowly opened her eyes. Looking around, she gasped.

"Gar, this is…wow," she mumbled.

"I figured out that you liked this amusement park." Gar shrugged lightly. "It's not too crowded, but the place is still alive."

"Yeah." Tara walked around. "I used to go here all the time!"

"Look, there's the roller coaster, the photo booth, the haunted house, the Ferris wheel," Gar listed while pointing out each item. "And last but not least, the great house of mirrors!"

"Awesome!" Tara exclaimed. "So where do we start?"

Gar smiled and dragged her along with him from one place to another. They went together from the roller coaster, being the only ones to ride it at that time. From there, they moved on to the photo booth, taking and printing crazy pictures of themselves. They went to the Ferris wheel, the haunted house, and lastly, they entered the house of mirrors.

Gar and Tara walked, his arms wrapped around hers.

"I can't believe you'll actually give me another chance," Tara whispered. "Why did you do that?"

"'Cause I fell in love with you," Gar replied.

Tara giggled as they both explored the place. Gar found a mirror that made his reflection look weird, and he spent a lot of time playing with it.

"What are you doing?" Tara asked.

"Checking myself out," Gar replied while posing. Tara laughed again and they moved on with their tour.

The night was getting really late, the wind becoming colder and place starting to close down.

"Thank you so much for today, Gar," Tara stated, holding his hand. "It means a lot to me."

"Anytime," Gar smiled. They were silent for a few moments, and they slowly leaned in. They almost kissed…but suddenly thunder cracked, startling both of them and making them both pull away.

Gar scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Um…I think it's gonna rain…"

Tara chuckled. "Yeah, would you mind driving me home? Or I can just call a taxi and…"

"No, no!" Gar stopped her immediately. "I'll be happy to take you home."

Tara smiled and they both went into the car, driving away from the amusement park.

--

The next day, everyone was busy. The talent show and the basketball competition were coming up in one week, and Kory had started her cheerleading practices again. She had been very active since she and Richard got together.

"Okay girls," Tara shouted to her team. "You're all doing great!"

The girls cheered again and high-fived each other.

"Now…I just got news from the principal," Tara announced, calming down her whole team. "Next week isn't just going to be talent show day or basketball competition day."

"Then what else is there?" a member asked.

Tara sighed heavily before continuing, "Well…we're…our team…is also going to compete…"

A few gasps and whispers are already audible.

"We're going against Gotham High," Tara announced again. "And so is the basketball team, and same goes for the talent show."

"I thought the talent show members were competing against each other from our own school!" another member exclaimed.

"Not anymore. All our competitions are now against Gotham High," she shook her head. "From this day on, we need to improve our skills. We're gonna win this competition, girls!"

They all cheered again and started practicing. The basketball team, which was also practicing, was currently taking a break. Richard walked by the cheerleaders that practiced nonstop, and winked to Kory, making her giggle for a minute.

Meanwhile, the talent show team was busy at the theater as well. Toni was busy improvising her dance moves, Karen and Mal Duncan tried to find a better song to show, and Rachel was practicing all day with Malchior. Ever since they met at that café, they had gotten very close.

"Your poems are awesome," Malchior complimented. "Did you write them by yourself?"

"I uh…" Rachel blushed. "Yes."

"They're incredible," Malchior examined her poems again. "Would you write one for me to read next week?"

"Huh?" Rachel answered in a dumbfounded way.

"It's gonna be cool," he said. "Our school can win using _your_ poems."

"You really want me to do that?"

"Yeah," Malchior smiled seductively. Rachel, for the zillionth time, blushed again.

"Alright," she finally answered. "I'll manage to write a good poem for next week."

"Thank you," Malchior whispered. He suddenly leaned in and kissed her cheek, and walked backstage. Rachel stood there, staring at nothing, and softly stroked her cheek. Yup, it wasn't a dream.

"Hey Karen," Toni walked over to her. "How's your singing going?"

"It's going wonderful," she said excitedly. "I just need to find new songs to sing next week, remembering that we're gonna go against _Gotham High_."

"Yeah," Toni nodded. "Hey, wasn't that where Richard went before?"

"That's right," Karen smiled. "And Babs was from there, too."

"Speaking of Richard," Toni cut in. "How are he and Kory? I didn't think that things were going well after the…um…Xavier and Kory event."

Karen laughed. "Guess what? They're together now."

"No way," Toni gasped. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes I am," Karen nodded.

"That is _awesome_ news," Toni squealed in joy. "Does everyone else know?"

"Actually, you're the last person to know," Karen chuckled. "You are _so_ not up-to-date."

"Well I'm just freakin' glad that they got together." Toni smiled.

"Hey ladies," Gar greeted Toni and Karen.

"Hey Gar," Karen greeted back. "How are you doing?"

"I'm _amazing_!" Gar exclaimed. "I just got together with…"

Toni and Karen stared at him as Gar suddenly silenced himself.

"With who?"

"Er…" Gar looked away. "Never mind…so uh…how are you guys doing?"

"You don't expect us to be not curious after you suddenly change the topic, do you?" Toni asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes I do," Gar muttered, still looking away.

"Spill it grass hair," Karen smirked. "Who is it?"

"You don't wanna know."

"If we don't, we wouldn't be pushing you like this, wouldn't we?" Toni said.

"You won't like who I'm…"

"Just tell us who she is!"

Gar looked down and mumbled, "Tara."

Toni looked from Gar who looked interested in the wooden floor, and Karen whose jaw was dropping.

"Um…" Toni started nervously. "Congratulations…?"

"You're dating TARA MARKOV," Karen rephrased what Gar had said. "That girl who betrayed me and MY FRIENDS."

"No, don't get this the wrong way," Gar immediately cut in. "She's not as bad as she was before."

"Like you think I'm gonna believe that," Karen crossed her arms.

"Karen, I'm serious!" Gar half yelled. "She turned good, she's not as rude and harsh as herself in the past!"

"How can I believe that?"

"What should I do to convince you and the others?"

Karen looked away and noticed that the other crew had already gathered, ready for another rehearsal.

"We'll talk about this later," Karen said coldly. "You better get ready. Congratulations, anyway."

Karen walked away and Gar sighed. What was wrong with Tara? Sure, she did bad things before, but everyone deserved a second chance, right? It's never too late to change…

Is it?

Gar picked up his microphone and walked up the stage, starting to practice again. Just when he was about to get started with the introduction, he saw something unusual, _very_ unusual.

Rachel was laughing. She. Was. Laughing. Giggling, to be exact. Gar noticed something else. She was with someone else. And that person is a boy.

"He must be that senior guy," Gar narrowed his eyes. "How come she laughs at what _he_ said?"

Everyone suddenly looked up to his figure at the stage, staring at him in an odd way. He arched an eyebrow, until he realized that his microphone was still positioned in front of his lips. Meaning, every word he said about "that guy" was heard by everyone, loud and clear. He could see Rachel and "that guy", who happened to be Malchior, look at him in a slightly surprised manner, somehow knowing that they were the topic of Gar's lone conversation.

"Um…" Gar looked at them nervously and tried to think of something to say. "So…wanna know why the aardvark crossed the road? To get to the other side, of course!"

They were still staring at him and his pathetic joke, but then they shrugged and continued preparing. Gar let out a relieved sigh, and started the rehearsal.

"Alright guys, let's get it started!"

-X-X-X-

There! Another chapter done! Whew!  
as usual, please do REVIEW!! I'll give you mint candies this time :D  
There's one more chapter to go, so stay tuned with OSL!!  
And... this chapter is dedicated to .Spaz-attack101 for her birthday!! Happy Birthday, EMMA!! Whoo!!  
REVIEW!!  
-Rynna


	21. What a Happy Ending

Kory, Jenny, Karen, and Rachel sat at the usual table with Richard, Wally, Vic, and Gar.

"My charm bracelet actually worked!" Jenny exclaimed. "You two actually got together!"

"Yeah, screw Katie and her wicked plans," Vic chuckled. "You two are meant to be!"

"Thank you," Kory giggled.

"Yeah, now it's time for a certain girl and a certain boy to get together," Jenny shifted her eyes to Rachel and Gar.

They both looked away, feeling uncomfortable with the situation. Gar thought that Rachel still liked him, and Rachel thought that Gar might like her. But then again, there was someone else for each of them...

"I have something to…" Gar and Rachel said at the exact same time to the whole table group. They stared at each other. "You first," Gar muttered.

"I, uh…have something to tell you guys," Rachel started. "Currently…I'm…in a relationship…with someone."

They all looked at each other, trying to figure out whether it was Gar or not. "And I know who you guys were expecting me to be with," she whispered, loud enough to be heard by some of them.

"I'm sure you guys know Malchior," Rachel announced and smiled a little. "He's a year above us."

A few gasps from the girls were heard. "You're going out with _that_ Malchior?" Jenny asked in astonishment. Rachel nodded in reply.

"He's a good match for you," Karen laughed. "But I gotta warn you, he's the "bad boy" kind of guy."

A hint of disappointment struck Garfield for a while, but after Tara took over his mind, the disappointment disappeared.

"Well, congratulations to you, lady," Richard smiled.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled back. She turned to Gar and her smile slowly faded. "I'm done if you wanna talk."

"My news is actually similar to Rae's," Gar started, but then he received a glare from Rachel.

"Um…_Rachel's_," Gar corrected. "I uh…hooked up with this girl, and um…you all know her…"

Everyone looked at him curiously, except for Karen, because she knew what was going to happen next. "Well, don't just stop there," Karen taunted. "Go ahead and tell us who you're _dating_."

Gar frowned at her, but he went on. "We started out as friends and I realized I like her more…than just friends."

"If it's not Rae, then who is it?" Jenny whispered to Kory.

"Well…I have a feeling that whoever she is, her description of being Gar's best friend and that we all know her makes me feel that we're _really_ close to her…" she answered.

"And…my point is…" Gar continued. "From now on…I'm dating…"

"Tara," Rachel cut in. "It's Tara that you're dating, isn't it?"

Silence.

"Yes," Gar looked down.

"It's not that I'm not happy for you, Gar," Jenny cut in. "But I have to say, what kind of person are you?"

"I'm sure you understand that she's our _ex-friend_," Karen continued. "And if you're gonna go out with her that means you can be classified as one, too."

"Please," Kory interrupted. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation to his decision, right Gar?"

"Of course there is," Gar nodded. "She might be a traitor to you girls before, but now she's more than what she was in the past! She's changed."

"Don't bother explaining, Gar," Rachel finally said and slowly stood up. "She's not a friend. We gave her trust; she knows all our secrets, our hidden emotions, and every part of us. Now that she's not on our side anymore, she could blurt them out at anytime! And you all of the sudden have that interest to her! Jenny, Karen and I knew how easy it was to make friends with Tara at first sight, but afterwards, she's nothing but a fake friend!"

Gar seemed to stop breathing at that time, surprised by Rachel's sudden outburst.

A soft voice came from behind the pillars. "I already expected that you were going to say that about me." They all whipped around, and found Tara slowly walking over to them. "That's what you all think of me? That I'm a traitor, that I'm an ungrateful jerk, or probably even worse?"

"Tara," Kory whispered.

"Well, you don't expect us to think of you as a little innocent angel, do you?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms.

"Look Rachel," Tara replied. "What I did back then…I didn't mean it. You wouldn't believe me either, because you all know I did that with my eyes open, my mind uncontrolled by anyone else, and I wasn't blackmailed at all."

"Then what was your reason?" Karen asked.

"I don't wanna give reasons," Tara said. "Honestly, I don't even know why I did that in the first place. Probably just to save myself."

The girls narrowed their eyes while the boys just looked at them, dumbstruck, especially Gar.

"Then what are you doing here?" Jenny stood up as well, leaving Kory as the only girl sitting down.

"I came here to…apologize." Tara looked down.

"Rejected," Karen said immediately. "You think we're gonna let you off easily? No, we won't."

"Trust something you have to earn," Jenny added. "You gained our trust last time and lost it, what makes you think that you're gonna get it easier this time?"

"…So we can't trust each other anymore," Tara looked away.

"Do you really mean it, Tara?" Kory asked softly. "Are you really sorry about what you did this whole time? Do you really regret it?"

Tara didn't speak. She wasn't brave enough to answer her.

"Be honest with us on this one."

After a few moments, the girls sat down except for Rachel, and started to feel sorry for her. But Rachel was an exception.

Tara finally nodded. "Yes, I really do. If none of you wants me with Gar," Tara mumbled. "Then I guess we'll just have to…"

"Prove it, Tara." Rachel cut her in. "Prove it to us that you're really sorry."

"If there's anything I can do, Rachel," Tara pleaded. "I would have done it by now."

"There is," Rachel replied. The whole group looked at her, waiting for what she was going to say next. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up.

"Take care of Gar," Rachel said carefully. "Keep him happy, and stay true to him. Be the best you can be for him. He's our friend, we don't want him to be hurt the way we were before."

For the second time, she gained the group's attention. The things that she said were so honest…and deep from inside her heart. Gar stared at Rachel with wide eyes.

"I will, Rachel." Tara nodded seriously. "I promise you."

The expressions on their faces started to soften, slowly forgiving all her mistakes and mess-ups in the past.

Rachel walked closer to Tara. "Then you're forgiven," she whispered. Tara and Rachel pulled each other into a friendly hug.

"Yeah," Vic shouted. "Now I'm feeling the love."

Rachel and Tara both pulled away. "Thank you, Rachel." Tara said. "I swear I'll keep my promise."

Gar walked over to Tara and hugged her as well. "I'm glad you changed, Tara," he mumbled. "I'm _very_ proud of you."

"Thanks Gar," she hugged him back, and then pulled away. "Like I said before, I'll keep my promise. I'll be the best I can be for you."

"Well what do you know," Wally chuckled. "We're all in pairs."

"And I'm happy with my pair," Richard looked over to Kory as she blushed like mad.

The bell rang just in time. They all got up, saying their goodbyes and heading separate ways to their own classes.

--

A week passed in what seemed like only one or two days for Jump City High students. The cheerleaders, basketball team, and talent show team had been preparing themselves for the Gotham City High students. This competition had been declared as the biggest event of the year. Three teams from Jump against three from Gotham.

The gym was the most crowded place at the time. Cheerleaders and basketball players were all competing.

"Jump City High, push your limit! Win this game cause this is it!" the girls cheered.

"Focus guys," Richard reminded his team. "We're gonna win this."

"Hey hey hey," a Gotham basketball player walked over to Richard's team. "You must be that oh-so-famous Richard Grayson."

"And _you_ are?" Richard asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Fang," the boy smirked. "Katie told me a lot about you."

"She did, huh?" Richard asked again. "Well, FYI, I don't have any relation with her. In fact, I never wanted to."

Katie suddenly appeared behind Fang. "Now that's mean, Richard," Katie scowled. "But I don't mind. I have my Fangie-poo with me here."

"You two make a bad couple," Richard shook his head. "But never mind, I don't care anyway."

The whistle blew and the game started. Katie went to the audience seat, blowing kisses to her dearest Fang.

The theatre wasn't as crowded as the gym, but the tension was as much as the other teams. Rachel and Malchior teamed up together, reading a wonderfully dark poem. Toni, Mal, and Karen made a very great performance, but the Gotham students didn't want to lose, either. Their performances were as breath-taking as Jump's students…

--

"…and SCORE!! Yes, people, this year's game has been won by the Jump City High basketball team!!"

Everyone cheered and the cheerleaders went wild. Richard and his team high-fived to each other and shouted in victory.

"Now that we have a winner for the basketball game," the announcer said. "It's time to pick the winning cheerleading team! Our winning cheerleading team this year is…"

Silence. Heartbeats.

"Jump City High cheerleading team!!"

The girls screamed and hugged each other. "We won, girls, we won!!" Tara shouted proudly.

Both teams won, and so did the theatre team. Jump City High was at its victorious peak. With Rachel and Malchior's poem, Karen singing along with Mal Duncan's music (which was a brilliant idea that suddenly came into Karen's mind), Toni's hot dance moves, and a brain inside Gar's head that was smart enough to not crack any stupid jokes, they actually won.

"You did awesome back there," Malchior complimented Rachel. "No wonder we won."

"I couldn't have done it without you," Rachel smiled sheepishly.

Kory, Jenny, Tara, and the other boys met the girls at the theatre. "This is awesome!" Jenny squealed. "We _all_ won!"

"And I don't need to worry about Katie bugging me and Richard anymore," she giggled.

"Really?" Karen asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why so?"

"She found a Gotham boy," Richard shrugged. "Looked like her ex, though."

"You know, I just got a brilliant idea," Vic suddenly interrupted. "Why don't we all hang out after school to celebrate this? I mean, it's a day worth to celebrate…Everyone's happy and we all won!"

"Well that's nice of you Sparky," Karen answered. "But I'm afraid some of us have shopping plans."

"Tara, Karen and I are in the shopping mood," Jenny giggled. "Does anyone want to come with?"

"You know, I'll go to Vic's celebration," Richard decided.

"Then I'll come with him, too," Kory said.

"Well…I guess I can have a little fun time for a while," Rachel smiled. "I'll go check with Malchior."

"So…since you're going with the girls, then I guess…I have to come too, huh?" Gar asked Tara.

"Not really," Tara shook her head. "If you wanna go with them, have some fun."

"Thanks," Gar smiled. "I'm in with you, Vic."

"Now that's my little buddy," Vic chuckled. "Okay, I guess the five of us are coming! How does the pizza place sound?"

"Awesome," Richard smiled.

--

So, the five of them arrived at Jump City's greatest pizza place. They settled down on one table and ordered pizza. _That_ was the greatest challenge at that time.

"Pepperoni!" Vic exclaimed.

"Come on, dude," Gar complained. "I _can't_ eat meat! I'll eat anything as long as it's not meat!"

"There's no meat in pepperoni," Vic interrupted. "It's _pepperoni_!"

"Can we _please_ just order something?" Rachel sighed.

"Black olives?" Richard offered. The others looked at him with blank stares, and seconds later, Vic and Gar started to argue again.

"Come on guys, just make an decision," Kory sighed. "I'll even order something with pickles and banana just to break you two!"

Again, everyone stared.

"Look," Richard sighed. "Let's just order personal sizes, so we'll enjoy ourselves, okay?"

Finally, they agreed. They ordered personal pan pizzas with their own personal tastes.

"Our first year at high school," Richard recalled. "Who knew it would be so tough?"

"None of us," Gar admitted. "I never even knew that I would go through a tense talent show competition."

"Tell me about it," Rachel sighed. "All that poem writing is actually exhausting."

"Well, the cheerleaders and basketball players aren't much different," Kory said.

"Yeah, but there are good sides to all of this," Richard said. "We all became friends. We're like a family together."

"I am glad to have such wonderful friends," Kory sighed. "After moving here, I never thought that I could ever fit in. But now we're all here having a good time."

They chatted among themselves, talking about how their friendship had formed and what challenges they could face. The sun started to set, and they all decided to go home.

"Kory?" Richard called out.

"Hmm?"

"I uh…"

"What is it?" Kory asked in a little concern.

"I'm just trying to say," he started. "That I'm glad I found a girl like you. You're the best thing that ever happened in my life."

Kory started to giggle and gave him a short kiss on his lips. "I love you too, Richard. I'm glad as well to have found you in my life."

They both smiled and leaned in to share another kiss, a long and passionate one.

_Richard's POV_

Our friendship will last throughout high school, and if possible, it will last forever. For we all know we'll always be with each other, in good and bad times, as true friends, no matter what happens.

**The End**

-X-X-X-

Oww, this story has finally come to its END!!  
They lived happily ever after…  
I'd like to thank everyone who had read and reviewed my story...  
Thank you Claire for helping me uploading my chapters, and thank you HarryPotterFan1994 for beta reading!!  
Thank you EVERYBODY!! You guys are WONDERFULLY WONDERFUL!!  
Don't forget there's gonna be a sequel coming up!! Ordinary School Life 2: Extraordinary Friendship!! In that sequel, you'll totally find BBRae... I'm sorry if you don't like BBTer and RaeMal (I don't like it either XD), but I'm saving BBRae for the sequel...  
REVIEW!!  
-Rynna :D


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